The Troublesome Case Of Benjamin Youngblood
by Spark Plug x
Summary: Benjamin Youngblood is an American exchange student. He doesn't understand the different houses, the moving staircases, or anything else Hogwarts has to offer. What he does understand is that he's best friends with Oliver Wood's daughter, the Quidditch fanatic, that he's in somewhat of a rivalry with James Potter, and that Albus Potter was absolutely adorable. MaleOCXAlbus JamesxOC
1. Chapter 1

**Hello! This is my first Harry Potter fanfiction so I hope you all like it! I'm posting two chapters to start it off with because...I dunno, one just doesn't seem like enough. I have a tumblr dedicated to this story and harry potter in general (mostly the next gen) and the link is on my profile page! Go hit me up if you have any questions or suggestions!**

**Also this story will be from their 5th year to their 7th year (and possibly a little bit after that as well so this story will take place over a couple of years)**

* * *

><p>"<em>First things first I'm the realest." <em>

Benjamin groaned as the song woke him from his slumber. The song drifted into his room through his open bedroom door that he swore he shut last night. He shouldn't be surprised. He woke up to that song every day for the past month. He hated Eleanor's radio. He wasn't even sure how she got a signal. They lived out in the middle of nowhere. Well, they lived in the countryside out by Manchester, but, still.

"Get your butt up!" A British female voice ordered. He groaned again, this time the light to the room turned on and he was temporally blinded.

"Eleanor, let me sleep." He whined, pulling his blankets over his head. The girl rolled her eyes and tugged the blankets off of him. He glared at her as she turned and left his room.

"We'll be stuck in the crowds if you keep this up. We need to go buy our school supplies. You've got a lot to learn about British Wizardry School!" She chided as she went to finish up her morning routine.

Benjamin Youngblood was an America foreign exchange student. His school, Salem Academy, had picked multiple students that they thought would be excellent students to send to Hogwarts.

Benjamin was pretty damn sure they asked him to go because they were tired of putting up with his bullshit.

He went anyway, leaving his family and a few friends behind as he traveled to England. It wasn't so bad. The family he was staying with, the Wood family, were very nice people. Crazy Quidditch fanatics, but nice people. He was the same age as their daughter, Eleanor, who he had spent every day with for the past few months.

"It's so early." He complained as he trudged into the bathroom to brush his teeth and hair.

"We need to get a move on things. Diagon Alley waits for no witch or wizard!" She exclaimed, brushing her long, wavy, dark brown hair. Even though she was shorter than Benjamin, she had the build to kick his ass. He usually went along with whatever she wanted, since she was known to have a temper. He stuck with smart ass comments that riled her up, since it was too much fun to tease her. "You should be the one excited here. You get to be sorted soon!"

"Explain this concept to me again." He asked as he brushed his hair. He didn't feel like styling it, or changing his hair style so he grabbed a beanie and put it on, satisfied with how it looked. He went to go change into his clothes as Eleanor sighed again. "Just run it by me again."

"At Hogwarts, you are sorted into different Houses." She began, folding her arms across her chest. "Gryffindor, Ravenclaw, Hufflepuff, and Slytherin."

"You're Ravenclaw, right?" He questioned and she nodded her head.

"One is known for courage, one for being wise, another for being loyal, and the other for being shrewd, or sly." She continued as he pulled on his jeans and shirt. "I doubt you'll be a Ravenclaw with me." He sent a fake hurt look her way as he got his shoes on. He chuckled and grabbed his bag.

"Well who cares what house I'm in?" He asked her.

"You're impossible. No wonder you were chosen to be on this program, bet they were sick of you back home." The girl rolled her eyes once more, something she did often with the male. "And stop changing your hair and eye color, honestly." She chided and his hair stopped on a bright red color that matched his now red eyes.

"Can't help it." He shrugged but she hit him with a pillow.

"Stop lying. I know you can. Damn metamorphmagus idiot." She muttered under her breath as he tossed his pillow back onto his bed and recovered from the hit. Eleanor was more annoyed with the fact that she hadn't ever seen what Benjamin actually looked like. She knew the nose he had now was not his natural nose, nor was his hair and eye color the natural color. She found it frustrating because he was her best friend. She should know everything about him.

"Hey, I can't help that it runs in the Youngblood family." He defended himself as his hair and eyes changed to blue, then back to red, just to piss her off. "People aren't going to be freaked out, right? Back home everyone knew that it ran in our bloodline since forever, so it wasn't much of a surprise when I did it."

He had been a little worried when he told the Wood family he was a metamorphmagus. His grandmother was one, and her father had been one, and her father's mother had been one. His grandfather even took his grandmother's last name to get the Youngblood last name to continue it. Everyone that lived near the family knew that having the last name of Youngblood meant you had the chance of being a metamorphmagus. He was confident in his skill, but he wasn't too sure how others would take it.

It didn't stop people from making fun of him though.

"No one should be freaked out by it, but it's still extremely rare. Teddy Lupin is one as well, he's very good at it." Eleanor said as she grabbed her bag and made her way downstairs.

"There's another one?" He asked, excited. "I've never met one that was close to my age. My grandma is the only one I know."

"Yup. I think you two would get along if you ever get to meet him." She said as they walked into the kitchen together. "Now let me make breakfast."

"Ah, no no no, let me do it." He told her, brushing past her as she pouted, but sat on a bar stool and leaned against the counter.

Benjamin had learned the first week of staying here that Eleanor could not cook. She was amazing at Quidditch and made good grades, but her eggs were like rocks and her toast was a piece of charcoal. Benjamin, however, took care of his younger siblings during the summer when he wasn't at school, so he knew how to cook decent food that wouldn't kill you.

Eleanor's parents were usually gone the whole day. They left at seven in the morning and returned around five. Her two older siblings, Caleb and Amelia, had long since moved out. They come home for Sunday dinners sometimes, so Ben got to meet them once or twice. They were okay, but there was an age gap between them and Eleanor, about five years between her and Caleb and twelve between her and Amelia, so they didn't always get along the greatest.

"What do you want?" Ben asked her as he looked in the fridge.

"I wanna cook." She continued to pout and he rolled his eyes. "Eggs."

"Scrambled with cheese?" He questioned, knowing just what she wanted. "One day you will be able to cook, but today is not that day."

Eleanor patiently watched him cook. Benjamin wasn't all that bad. He was a bit odd, a teenage American with a thick Boston accent with a love for dragons and changing his appearance.

He clashed with her immediately, being so defiant and always changing, but he was good company when her parents worked long shifts that kept them away from home. Their home was large and empty, but with Ben, it wasn't so lonely. He sat quietly and drew while Eleanor read and he didn't disturb her too much.

He cleaned up after himself and made smart ass remarks to anything they watched on the television, which Eleanor enjoyed greatly.

Although he could be _quite_ cocky and vain, he was sweet. He treated her so well, and gave her so much attention that she was lacking from her family. He felt like an older brother to her, and he treated her better than her actual brother did. He did whatever she wanted to do, within reason, and usually didn't argue with her, which felt great, especially when she grew up being bossed around by her siblings. She never truly got to do what she wanted. Now she could.

"Let's go!" Eleanor declared once Ben finished cleaning up all the dishes. She got up out of her seat and Ben followed her closely to the fireplace. She pulled powder out of a sack near the fireplace and threw it all over Ben. He sneezed as she put it all over herself.

"Hold my hand so you don't get lost." He told her. She frowned as he took her hand. "We're not getting separated. Like hell I'm getting sent to the middle of nowhere."

"Shut up." She told him as she turned to the fire place. "Diagon Alley." She said loudly and clearly as they stepped in.

Ben really hated the floo. It felt like he was turning into liquid and it made him want to throw up.

They stumbled out onto a cobblestone street. Benjamin stared in awe at the place. "This is totally different from America…."

"Cool, right?" She asked with a smirk, not used to seeing the male so in awe about something before. "Now, come along. I got our school supplies list right here." She pulled him along with her through the crowds of people.

"It looks so old timey." He commented as they walked. "Like for real, this place needs an upgrade." He looked up to the old building, chuckling.

"Oh, be quiet." She sighed through her nose as she looked over the list. "We basically need the same books and supplies, thank goodness. I hope I don't get stuck in classes with you though."

"But you're my only friend here." He whined. "I'm sure I can make new friends but still. Everyone will already know everyone else. It's not like I'm a freshman…or a first year, whatever you call them."

"First year is right. You do have a point there. By fifth year, relationships are established, but you can be friends with the other American students." Eleanor said. "You have your money, right?"

"Holla." He said, waving the sack of money in front of her face before stuffing it back into his pockets. "The school's money, actually. Like I'd come over here without them paying for everything."

"Now, we need to stay on schedule. We have a few things to pick up and I have a list."

"Kitties!" Benjamin exclaimed as he walked by the pet store window. He hurried in and Eleanor followed, grumbling at him. Ben immediately went to a grumpy cat that only had one eye. "Precious baby." He cooed and it tried to attack him as he tried to pet it.

"That one is a mean one." A worker told him but he smiled at it anyway and tried to pet it again. "It's the runt of the litter. He's a big bully though. He got into trouble, but we got him out of it. He lost an eye in the process."

"Ben, no." Eleanor told him, trying to pull him away but he stayed in place.

"I'm allowed to have a pet at school, right? I want this cat."

"Oh, Eleanor, what are you doing here?" A male voice questioned and Eleanor quickly turned, frown on her face.

"None of your business, Potter." Eleanor spat out, glaring at James Potter. His little sister, Lily Luna, was behind him, looking at the pets. He smirked, lifting an eyebrow at Ben before glancing back to Eleanor.

Benjamin picked the cat up, and it threw a fit, but settled down once it realized that Benjamin wasn't letting him go. "There ya go. How much is he?"

"You want to buy him?" The worker asked, shocked.

"Benjamin you are not serious." Eleanor grumbled in disbelief.

"Who is that?" James asked, glancing to look at Ben, who was paying for the cat and grinning widely.

"None of your business Potter!" She exclaimed and jumped when Ben took her hand, his cat in its cage in his other hand.

"Let's bounce, Ellie, we got things to do." He said and pulled her out of the shop, James looking at them furiously. Ben just smirked at James over his shoulder. "What's his deal?" He asked once they were back on the streets.

"I hate him so much!" She exclaimed, face turning red. "He is a horrible, horrible boy!"

"I could tell you didn't like him much." Benjamin replied, glancing back into the store, where the male was now with who Ben assumed was his family. "What's the deal?"

"The deal? The deal with James Potter is that he has been a complete ass to me ever since our first year! He taunts me and irritates me to no end. Just seeing him or hearing his name gets my blood boiling!" She didn't look like she was going to be calming down anytime soon. "You know what he did in my third year?" She questioned, looking to Benjamin. "He lit my hair on fire. It burned it to the roots. To. The. Roots."

"Damn." He muttered. "What a dick."

"I know! It took two weeks for the hair potion to get to working! I was bald for two weeks!" She continued to rant as Ben looked around, catching a glimpse of an ice-cream shop.

"Let me buy you some ice cream." He took her hand and pulled her towards the shopping, her shouting behind him.

"I don't want ice cream, I want revenge!" She exclaimed as he pulled her into the shop.

"Two scoops of the raspberry and vanilla in a cone please." He told the lady behind the counter. "You like Earl Grey and Lavender, right?" He questioned. She nodded her head and he order it for her. He handed the cone to her and paid, getting his ice cream after. "Ice cream makes everyone feel better."

"I want revenge." She repeated, but licked her ice cream. "Thanks." She grumbled and he smiled at her.

"No prob. Don't worry about him, you got me now." He told her as they left the shop.

"What good will you do?"

"Rude. I like to fuck around with people. It's a past time of mind, actually. Probably one of the reasons they chose me to get sent over here. You're my friend now, so, I dislike Potter as well." He told her with a smirk on his face. "I'll help you get some revenge on him, because burning your hair to the roots is unforgivable."

"Damn straight it is." She nodded her head as she continued to eat her ice cream.

"Feeling better now?" He asked her after a few minutes of walking around, eating their ice cream. He stopped and let his cat have the rest.

"I am feeling better. I cannot believe you got that cat….it's so…ugly."

"Excuse me! Nick Fury is the cutest thing!" He looked at the black cat, who just glared at him after the ice cream was all gone.

"Nick Fury?"

"Yeah, the dude from the 'Avengers'. Do you not watch movies? I was going to do Nick Furry, but that's too punny. The guy only has one eye in the movie."

"I don't watch movies often. You're an idiot." She told the taller male, whose hair was now purple under his beanie. "Stop with the hair color. Pick a color and stay with it." She chided him and he whined. "Change your eye color to something normal. God, that cat is awful."

"Red's my favorite color though. He's precious." He told her as they went to get their robes. Eleanor picked them all out and Benjamin just carried the bags. "My grandma said changing the colors of my hair and eyes and changing my nose helps me burn off my excess energy I seem to have…my brother says I have extreme ADHD. I can't help it." He grumbled and Eleanor couldn't argue with that. It gave the male something to focus on and help slow down his mind.

This process continued to most of the stores. Eleanor picked everything out and Benjamin just carried it and looked at everything. "This place really is amazing. Back home it's not as exciting. My grandma would take me to make sure I didn't blow my money on stupid things. Sometimes my brother or dad would come along, but they were usually busy."

"Busy with what?"

"My brother was furthering his healer training and my dad had work along with his family."

"What about your mother?" She questioned.

"Oh, I'm a half-blood." He told her, pointing at himself. "She knew about us, but, my parents split when I was about…five or six. They both remarried shortly after that. My dad kind of wiped the magic out of her memories since he's extremely talented with charms, it's sort of his thing, and so she doesn't remember. My step-mom knows, of course, because her sister is a witch and because there's a possibility that one of their kids could be a witch or wizard. She's a really nice lady." He explained further. "Anyway, I lived with my grandma until I was about six maybe since I had issues with my…powers."

"Oh right, sorry, forgot." This made Eleanor laugh, thinking of a younger Benjamin turning himself into different people and causing trouble for his grandmother. "Got your wand, right?" She questioned as they passed by Ollivander's store. First years were inside, picking out their wands.

"Yup, sure do." He replied, nodding his head. "Best thing in the whole world. Other than my new cat." He smiled at it, and it just looked at him.

"Good. You'll need it. She questioned, looking at him. "Are you excited for Transfiguration class?"

"That class is my jam." He told her with a shrug. "However, can I skip potions? I'm shit at them…..and charms…those are really my dad and brother's fields."

"You're such a geek." She told him, eyebrows raised. "Then again, what would I expect from a Metamorphmagus? Nope, you can't skip them."

"It's fun!" He exclaimed, as she stopped again.

"Albus!" She smiled widely at another boy who looked similar to James. This boy had green eyes and was a little smaller than James though, and had longer hair. "How are you?"

"Oh, hey Eleanor. I'm good." He replied as she hugged him. "Mum, Eleanor is over here." He called out and an older woman with ginger hair came over, smiling and hugging Eleanor.

"James said he saw you in the pet store earlier." She said as she let go of Eleanor. "I'm surprised the store didn't burst into flames. I know how you two can be."

"Benjamin stepped in before anything happened." She replied, directing their attention to Benjamin, who waved behind all the bags he was carrying. Eleanor grabbed a random cart someone had left and pushed it over to him.

"God, they have carts?" He questioned as he dropped everything onto the cart. "You made me carry all that stuff for an hour for no reason?" He sat Nick Fury's cage on top of the other items and grinned at the cat, who gave him an annoyed look.

"Oh shush." She replied and smiled back at the other two. "This is Benjamin Youngblood. He's the foreign exchange student that's staying with us."

"You're mother has told me all about that. Hello, it's nice to meet you. I'm Ginny Potter, but you can call me Ms. Ginny. This is my son, Albus. You met his older brother, James, earlier." She introduced herself and Benjamin shook both of their hands, smiling. "Nice cat."

"It's nice to meet ya." He told them. "Thanks, he's new! His name is Nick Fury 'cuz he's only got one eye, but I think I'll just call him Fury. Oh yeah, her mom is the best. She makes the best treats." He sighed happily, starting to feel hungry again. "Oh man, I'm getting hungry."

"Americans." Eleanor sighed, rolling her eyes. "Are you two almost done with all you're shopping?"

"Oh yes. Albus got a head start on it. James came later with his father, we're just waiting for them and Lily to finish." Ms. Ginny continued and Albus blushed a little. Benjamin grinned at him, liking him much better than his older brother.

"I wanted a head start too, before it got super busy, but this one here didn't want to wake up." She eyed Benjamin, who just shrugged.

"I was having a bad hair day, what can I say?" He shrugged his shoulders, red eyes gleaming. Eleanor looked ready to hit him, wishing he changed his eye color to something more, normal and not demonic. "But, for real, dude, so hungry. I'm fading out."

"Then fade out. I'm not done talking." Eleanor told him and he just leaned his head on her shoulder, much like a child would do to their mother. "What classes are you taking this year, Al?"

"Trans-species Transformations." He sighed. "I'm not the biggest fan of transfiguration." He admitted and this perked Benjamin back up.

"Oh no, you used the 't' word." Eleanor said. "Benjamin loves transfiguration."

"I love transfiguration. I'm incredibly amazing at it." He smirked confidently. "I was the best in my class."

"Calm down." Eleanor smirked at Benjamin. "Maybe Benny here can tutor you if you need help. You're good at potions, right? You and Ben can trade off, because he apparently can't do potions at all."

"Oh yeah, totally. If ya need help, I'll be there. Oh, good, someone who knows what they're doing in potions. I just close my eyes and hope for the best." He grinned at Albus, winking at him. "But for real I'm super hungry and your mom said she'd have lemon squares ready for us when we got back home." He turned to Eleanor, stomach growling.

"How about you two join us for lunch? I know Harry is probably hungry, shopping wears him and James out." Ms. Ginny smiled.

"Eh..." Eleanor thought it over.

"We'd love to join you!" Ben jumped in before Eleanor could say anything more.

* * *

><p>Eleanor sat next to Ben at their table at the Leaky Cauldron. She didn't seem too pleased, mostly because she had an empty chair in front of her and she knew James would sit there and smugly smile at her throughout the whole meal.<p>

"Sorry we're late." An older man said as he and James walked in with a younger girl with orange hair. "Oh, Eleanor, hello."

"Hello Mr. Potter." Eleanor smiled at him, ignoring James. Ben's eyes followed James as the male walked over to his chair. Right as he was sitting down, Ben raised his eyebrows and the chair moved. James fell onto his butt with a yelp. Albus laughed loudly with his sister.

"James, did you miss the seat?" His father laughed as James grumbled words under his breath, rubbing his butt as he got up. He pulled the chair over and sat down, still grumbling. "Who is this?" He directed the question towards Ben. He stood and reached out his arm, shaking the man's hand.

"I'm Benjamin Youngblood. I'm an exchange student from America. I'm stayin' with Eleanor and her family." He introduced himself.

"I'm Harry Potter, it's nice to meet you." Harry said with a smile.

"Nice to meet you too, Mr. Potter." He smiled back and sat down, while James huffed. Ben sat back down, fidgeting with something in his lap.

Eleanor glanced over to Ben, sending him a confused look when James' drink spilled.

"What is going on with you today?" His mother questioned, her oldest son not usually this clumsy.

"I don't know!" James exclaimed, getting frustrated easily. Ben hid his smirk behind his hand as he rested one of his elbows on the table. His red eyes gleamed with mischief and Eleanor glanced down to his lap, seeing the male's wand in his other hand.

"So, Benjamin, can I take a guess a say you're a metamorphmagus?" Harry asked as he looked up from his menu to see Ben's red eyes.

"Oh, yes sir. Guess the red eyes gave it away?" He chuckled at this and changed his eyes to brown.

"Better." Eleanor told him as she saw this. "Yes, it runs in his family. He likes to change his hair about a million times a day."

"If I have the ability I gotta use it." Ben shrugged at her and turned back to Harry. "Youngbloods are known for it where I'm from."

"You and Teddy would get along well. He's my godson." Harry explained and Ben perked up, grinning now. "You actually are a lot like him. I guess metamorphamgi like that rebel look." He said as he noticed the shaved sides of Ben's head under his beanie. "He wears his hair the same way."

"Eleanor told me about him. I don't know any others besides my grandma." He told them as James' cup moved quickly to the right, then left, before he finally snatched it. "Yeah, my grandma hates my hair, but, I can just change the style whenever she wants me to."

"Albus! Stop it!" James accused his younger brother, who shot him a dirty look.

"I'm not doing anything." Albus replied, annoyed that he was accused.

"Lily." James started, but his sister shook her head. He turned his glare to Ben, who gave him an innocent look.

"Why ya looking at me?" He questioned, holding his wand tightly in his hand underneath the table. "Dude, it's definitely not me. Why would I do that?"

He just sighed and stared at his menu. Ben raised his eyebrows at Eleanor, who seemed very pleased with his handiwork.

"Are you excited about Hogwarts?" Lily asked Ben, smiling at him, seeming to know he was the one behind the pranks.

"Definitely. I like adventure!"

"You might be in Gryffindor then." Harry told him, nodding his head. "Lily and James made it into that house." He looked at his kids, who all just shrugged.

"That's pretty sweet." Ben replied. "I dunno, I probably won't land in that house. I'm trying not to think about it too much. Being placed in a house doesn't worry me at all, because it won't matter once the school year is over. We don't do that sort of thing in America, we mostly are divided by our grade. It's boring."

"Sounds it." Albus mumbled.

"I'm sure you'll get into it. A lot of our family is in it." Lily said, nodding her head. "James and I, our cousins, Hugo, Victorie, Louis, Fred, Roxanne, and Molly."

"Gee, all Gryffindors?" He questioned, surprised that they were all in it.

"The others are mostly in Ravenclaw with me." Eleanor told him. "And Albus is Slytherin with Rose."

"Makes me wonder what houses all my siblings would be in. My older brother would definitely be a Ravenclaw, he's such a prick." He chuckled and Eleanor elbowed him.

"Guess you and your brother are a lot alike?" James asked snidely as Harry ordered the food. James smirked as he reached for his cup. He took a sip and it spilled all over him. Albus looked at Ben as this happened, then started to laugh loudly.

"Nice." He whispered to Ben, who raised his eyesbrows at Albus.

"Thanks." He replied, starting to like Albus more. "Glad it's appreciated."

"It definitely is." Albus told him, nodding his head as he stopped laughing. "He deserved it."

"Glad you think so too." Ben was extremely happy that Albus was siding with him. "Yeah, my brother and I aren't so much alike, actually. He's more serious and I like to think I'm more playful. We look alike though."

"Is he your only sibling?" Harry questioned, curious.

"Oh, no, I have nine siblings. Some half siblings, the others step-siblings." Ben answered, taking a sip of his drink. "My parents divorced and both remarried."

"Ah, big family. I like that." Ginny chuckled, thinking of her siblings.

"I love it a lot." Ben told her, thinking of his family. "My siblings are all pretty young, except for Millie and Trent, but they were from my step dad's previous marriage. Clara and the other three might have powers, but I doubt it. I was kinda hoping for another one like me, but my grandma said I'd be the only one in the family, except her. My brother just has powers, he can't change like me."

"Probably a relief for your parents."

"Oh, yeah, I was awful as a kid. I'm quite sly and cunning." Ben chuckled thinking about how he would change how he looked and freak his parents out. "That was a lot of fun, actually."

"You're awful now." James muttered and his chair tipped over and he fell to the floor.

"James, are you alright?" His mother asked, worried. Albus bit his lip, as did Eleanor and Lily, to hold back the laughter.

"I want to go home." James whined, starting to get sick of this.

* * *

><p>"Are you worried?" Eleanor asked as Ben played with a blade of grass. They were sitting outside in Eleanor's large backyard, which really had no ends to it. There was a small pond a few yards away, with balls of hay everywhere amongst their property.<p>

"Nah." He mumbled, shaking his head. "Been through worse. Ma told me I'd be fine, no matter what house I'm placed in. She did research on Hogwarts. Worried I might not like it."

"I thought you told me your mother and father got divorced?" She sent him a confused look because she knew that his mother was a muggle, and after the divorce, his farther wiped her memory of all and any magic. Including Benjamin. His stepmother, however, was a squib, so there were no secrets.

"I call my step mom 'ma'. Call my actual mother 'mom', though I don't really get to use it often on her." He trailed off, looking off at the pond. He was quiet for a few moments, which was odd for him.

"You okay?"

"Yeah. Excited to see what the fuss is about." He told her. "You talk about Hogwarts so much, of course I'm excited to get to go."

"Is that what's really bothering you?" She poked his side and he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into a tight hug.

"Nothing is bothering me, my dear Eleanor. I just hope I don't get stuck in the same house as Potter."


	2. Chapter 2

"Now please, behave yourselves." Mrs. Wood said the next morning as they stood on the platform. She looked ready to cry as she held Eleanor tightly.

"Mother, please." She grumbled, embarrassed. Mr. Wood just shook Benjamin's hand, telling him to watch Eleanor and keep her safe from any boys.

"Of course, sir." Benjamin replied, ready to get a move on. "I ain't digging these clothes, do we get to change out of them?" He questioned, wondering why the British wore such awful clothing.

"No, it's your new uniform. Depending on what house you'll in, you'll get different colors." Mr. Wood said as Mrs. Wood let go of Eleanor.

"You behave too now, you hear?" She said and hugged Benjamin tightly, surprising him. "Write the second you can and let us know what house you're in."

"Got it. Behaving isn't really my cup of tea, but I'll give it a go for you." He told her and hugged her back, making her grip on him even tighter. "Oh god….can't…breath."

"Mother!" Eleanor exclaimed and she let him go. "We'll write to you, we promise. Now we got to go or we'll miss the train!" She told them, hugging them one last time before pushing her cart into the wall, disappearing.

"The hell." Benjamin questioned, eyes wide. "Oh hell no. I ain't doing that."

"Ben, it's safe. We all did it when we were younger." Mr. Wood told him, patting his back. "Just aim straight, push your cart, and run."

"I wanna go back home. We didn't have to run through walls there." He whined as Mr. Wood pushed him. He made a face, but ran at the wall, closing his eyes.

"You took forever." Eleanor complained when he opened his eyes again. He was, what looked to be, an entirely different train station. "The wall thing scared me when I was first year, but at least I didn't close my eyes."

"Shut up." He muttered, embarrassed. "It was freaky as hell."

"Don't be a baby. Follow me." She ordered and turned on her heel quickly, pushing her cart over to the loading area, leaving it there and pulling Benjamin along with her. "They'll take care of our things. We need to board and find a compartment."

"We ride a train?" He questioned, confused. "I guess it's not that different than back home, though we rode the metro. This is waaayyy cooler." He seemed excited as she yanked him onto the train.

"Don't act weird." She told him as they searched for a compartment to sit in. Benjamin smiled at everyone and greeted them.

"I'm trying to come off friendly so I can make friends in whatever house I'm stuck in." He told her as they passed by the sweets cart. "Oh dude I want all of that."

"No." She told him, annoyed at how he was behaving. Though she couldn't blame him for trying. "Why don't you go befriend the other American students?"

"Eh, I'd rather hang with you. You know what you're doing." He told her. The other American students seemed to be fitting in just fine. In fact, they seemed pretty popular amongst the other students, but Benjamin preferred to stay with Eleanor, because she was his friend, his only friend, at the moment.

"Hey, Eleanor!" A male called as they passed by a compartment. She backed up and smiled, hurrying into it.

"Hey guys!" She hugged two blond males, who looked to be twins. Each had short hair. "I should've figured you'd get on the train before me. How are you doing?"

"Great!" They said together, then looked at each other. "Whose is this? The foreign exchange student that's been living with you?"

"Yes, this is Benjamin Youngblood, an annoyance who is constantly changing what he looks like, so beware. Ben, this is Lorcan and Lysander Scamander." She pointed to them as she introduced them. Lorcan had a playful smirk and bangs in his face, while Lysander had his bangs out of his face. "Do you mind if we sit with you?"

"We were just about to ask you to join us!" Lorcan said as he sat back down. "So, Benjamin, you like it here?"

"Ah, yeah, it's nice. Rainy and cold most of the time, but I don't mind it too much." He replied, sitting down and smiling at people that walked pat their compartment. "You two are Ravenclaws with Eleanor?"

"Oh yes, it's fun to be in the same house as her." Lysander told him. "You've seen her get riled up about quidditch, right?"

"That's all her family ever talks about." He blew his bangs out of his face, starting to regret not styling his hair up today.

It honestly wasn't surprising how obsessed the family was with Quidditch. All the children played it, meaning Eleanor, her older brother Caleb, and her older sister Amelia. Her older brother actually was playing professionally for England's team as a Chaser.

"Are you going to play?" Lorcan asked and Ben shook his head no.

"Of course he is!" Eleanor exclaimed, surprising Ben. "You are playing. You can't be friends with me and stay with my family and not play!"

"Eh…I'm not the greatest. They always made me a seeker at school and I was terrible at it." He frowned.

"We'll work on it." Eleanor told him sternly as a sweets cart went by the door. Ben's eyes followed it longingly.

"I want some sweets…" He mumbled.

"Fine, go get some." Eleanor told him and he smiled at her before jumping up and running after the cart.

He caught up quickly and excitedly ordered one of everything on the cart, wanting to try it all. A few first years watched him, longingly looking at the candy, but being too nervous to order any or just not having the money to.

"Want some?" He offered to them, happy to blow the money he had left over from supplies. The school would collect the leftover money at the end of his trip, and he wasn't eager to give them their money back. The first years looked surprised, but eagerly accepted.

"Thank you so much!" They exclaimed and he shrugged it off, happy to make them relax a little.

"No problem, you all look a little stressed about the first day of school." He smiled at them. "I'm actually worried about being sorted too. We didn't have that back in America."

"You're one of the American foreign exchange students?" A girl questioned. "What's your school like?"

"Oh yeah, how is it different than our school?" Another person asked.

"I think he'll be just fine." Lorcan said when he peeked his head out of their compartment. "He's getting along really well with everyone." He watched as Benjamin talked about his old school. A girl with short black hair poked her head into the compartment with a smile. "Oh, hey Alice! We were wondering where you went."

"I had to make sure my brother didn't buy too many sweets." She rolled her eyes with a sigh. "Is that the new American boy you've been writing to me about?" She questioned Eleanor as she glanced at Benjamin as he began to return to the group.

"Yup. He's a handful, but I think you guys will like him." She nodded her head at her best girl friend.

"Uh oh, here's trouble." Lysander muttered.

"Hm?" Eleanor questioned as she saw James walk by her compartment. She poked her head out, eyes narrowed, wishing she could cast a spell and sent the Gryffindor's pants on fire.

"Hello, Youngblood." He greeted Ben, who raised his eyesbrows.

"We going by last names? Chill." He bit into a chocolate frog after saying this. "What up, Potter?" He said it with as much distain as James. "Want some?" He waved the last piece of his chocolate frog to James, who shook his head. "Good." He plopped it into his mouth. "Anyway, not that this….chat…wasn't fun, but I got to get back to my compartment." He waved goodbye to the other students before walking off. "Ellie, I got you a chocolate frog." He smirked as James glared daggers at him.

"He looks angry." Eleanor said as Ben returned to the compartment. "What did you say to him?"

"He was the one who got all haughty with me. Callin' me by my last name and shit. Rude."

"James can be like that sometimes, but he's a nice guy." Lorcan told Ben. "Albus is a sweetheart. He's a bit quiet at times. I like Lily Luna as well, she's quite funny."

"You like her because she's partly named after your mother." Eleanor told them and they both nodded their heads. "Oh, Ben, this is Alice Longbottom. She's in Ravenclaw with me as well."

"Nice to meet ya!" He extended his hand

Ben propped up his legs on the seat, looking out the window at the scenery as it all passed by quickly. "We didn't get treat carts. We got fed when we got there, they'd have an assembly, then we'd go back to our dorm rooms. I hope you people do it far more….exciting here."

"Hogwarts is far different." Eleanor said after this.

"I hope. They always got pissy when I changed up my hair and eye color. God forbid I didn't anything more than that, like change my gender or something more fun." He smirked as he thought about it. "I liked to fuck around with the guys and change myself into a girl. I was pretty bored."

"Headmistress McGonagall will love him." Lysander chuckled as Ben beamed.

"You won't be bored here! We'll start your Quidditch training right away. I have a feeling you could be a great beater." Eleanor starting, eyeing Ben up and down. "A seeker just isn't you, you aren't built for that."

"He's not built for anything in Quidditch." James said, leaning against the door to their compartment.

"Oh, be quiet, James. No one cares what you have to say. Who is the Quidditch expert here? Not you." Eleanor snapped. "Benjamin would make a wonderful beater. He's built enough to hit the bludgers away. You worried he'll be better than you?"

"Psh, I'm not worried about an American beating my team." He crossed his arms. "They can barely make it far in the Quidditch World Cup."

"Mostly because we really don't care." Ben piped in.

"Well you will be caring this year!" Eleanor told him with fire in her eyes. "You'll be the best beater on whatever team you're on! You cannot be a Gryffindor though!"

"Like we'd let him be on our team." James commented and Benjamin rolled his eyes.

"Didn't think I needed your permission? Are all you Gryffindors this obnoxious? Your brother is way nicer, and cuter." Ben said and James looked angered by this comment.

"Stay away from Albus." He told him and stormed off. Ben started laughing loudly after this.

"God, I think I might have some fun here."

* * *

><p>"Woahhhhhh, the carriages are being pulled by…air?" Benjamin stared in awe at the dark carriages that would take them to Hogwarts, while the boats took the first years. "Holy….holy hell, that's so cool!"<p>

"Actually, Thestrals are pulling them. However, you can only see them if you have witnessed death." Lysander told Benjamin. "Our mother can see them. She says their wonderful creatures with a bad reputation." He climbed into his carriage with his brother and Alice, along with Alice's brother Frank, waving to them as it pulled away

"They sound pretty kickass to me." Benjamin said as he watched the carriages be pulled away. He felt Eleanor pull him along, and he followed her, climbing onto their carriage.

"I told you Hogwarts was amazing." She said smugly as the carriage began to move.

"I ain't calling you a liar, that's for sure." He said as he looked around, taking it all in. "What house do you think I'll be stuck in?"

"You worried?" She questioned and he shrugged, about to say more when the carriage stopped suddenly.

"Hold up!" James said, pulling Albus along. They both climbed onto the carriage, Albus sitting next to Ben and James sitting next to Eleanor. "Now we can go!"

There was a groan, who it was from was hard to tell, but it was audible.

"Potter, couldn't you have ridden in another carriage?" Eleanor questioned. "But not you, Albus. I enjoy sitting with you."

"Me too." Ben smirked and chuckled as James sent a glare his way.

"And miss an opportunity to bother you?" James replied, looking back to Eleanor. The two began to argue and both Albus and Benjamin sighed.

Benjamin rolled his eyes and stared off into the woods, hair turning black to match the mood of the ride. His grandmother always told him to pick a color and stick with it, but he preferred to change his hair and eye color at least five times a day. He had the ability to, why waste it? He liked to stand out. Blending in was far too mundane for him.

"You sure do change your hair a lot." James commented and Ben looked at him, his eyes switching to red, startling James a bit.

"He's just like Teddy." Albus said.

Ben smiled at him, starting to get excited again. "Kinda hope I can learn a few more tricks to take back home with me. I'm sure my old professors will miss me cutting up this year."

James rolled his eyes at this, starting to wish he let Albus sit next to Eleanor. "I hope you don't get placed in Gryffindor with me."

"I kinda hope I don't either." Ben replied quickly. "I'm sure Gryffindors aren't so bad, but if they're all like you, I'd rather be in another house."

Albus laughed at this, making Benjamin smile widely. "Don't be so mean to him, James, relax some." Albus told his brother after he stopped laughing.

"Where's Lily?" Eleanor questioned, confused when she didn't see the two boys younger sister.

"She wanted to ride with her friends." James told her.

"I did too, but no, I was dragged along with him." Albus muttered, glancing at his brother. "Guess I'll have to meet with Scorpius and Rose later."

"You can spend some time with your brother." James told him sternly and Benjamin and Eleanor exchanged glances. This carriage ride was extremely awkward for the both of them, and they were sure Albus felt the awkwardness as well.

"Gryffindors." Albus muttered, rolling his eyes. "If you want to be in that house, all you have to do is ask. The sorting hat will place you there, that's what my dad did." Albus told Ben quietly so Eleanor and James didn't hear.

"Really? Hmp..." Ben muttered, thinking it over. "I might just take my chances and see where I land."

"I did the same." Albus nodded his head.

"So, are there many rules in Hogwarts?" Ben questioned, catching Eleanor's and James' attention.

"Why?" James questioned, eyebrow raised.

"I need to know the rules so I can find ways around them and ways to bend them." He said with a small smile. "Rules are guidelines. I don't need to follow them, and I rarely do. My way of doing things tends to be best."

"Woah…" Benjamin muttered as they walked into Hogwarts. "You guys never told me you went to school in a castle." He was absolutely in awe at the place. "My old school was magical, but this shit be trippin'."

"Impressed?" Elenaor smirked, patting his back as they entered the Great Hall.

"Woahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!" He grinned, excited. "This is so amazing."

"It is, but, now we have to part ways. You have to go sit with the other foreign exchange students and wait to be sorted. Don't you dare cause any trouble." Eleanor chided before she went to the Ravenclaw table.

Ben felt a bit lost, but found his way to the correct table and sat down, still in awe over everything. The place was so large and open and the floating candles and moving pictures and ghosts were so amazing.

Yeah, his school had that stuff, sorta, but it was way better here. The other American students joined him, chatting about how different it was from their school. He joined in, but not as much as usual. He spotted the sorting hat and suddenly felt nervous.

"What house do you think you'll get?" One asked him. "I hope I don't get Slytherin."

"Same. I heard they were awful." Another one said.

"Ya know, if ya ask to be in Gryffindor, it'll put you there." Benjamin rested his chin on his elbow, glancing at the other Americans. They all looked surprised at this.

"You sure about that, Youngblood?" A male asked, eyebrows raised.

"I'm sure of it. Maybe you should just take what you get, Glenberg, and not be a baby about this." He replied, making a disgusting face at the male. He never got along with the male. "I'm not going to sit and worry about what house I'll be placed in. Whatever house it is, it's surely the best." He smirked as a few others rolled their eyes as a woman stood at the end of the hall.

"Guys, Slytherins aren't bad." Bailey said, shaking her head. Her long blonde braid hit her back as her head shook. Her brown eyes looked slightly annoyed that her fellow classmates would believe such rumors. "They're rumors. The war caused a bad name to fall onto Slytherins, but honestly, are you going to mistreat them just because of what they're grandparents or parents did?"

"Welcome back, students, and welcome, new students, to Hogwarts." The woman spoke loudly and clearly. "I'm Headmistress McGonagall." She started into a speech that Ben, honestly, spaced out on. He snapped out of it when the first student was called to be sorted.

He noticed, as he watched them be sorted, that the sorting hat took it's time. On one student, it would say it instantly, on others, it often took longer. It spoke with them, said things out loud about the student for the whole hall to hear. He felt a little embarrassed for them, but he still chuckled when their faces turned red when their thoughts were spoken out loud.

"I guess we'll go last." Glenberg muttered to a younger American student as they continued to call the first years one by one up to the hat. Each house cheered as they got a new student, and it looked nice, to be welcomed like that. It took an awfully long time too. Benjamin was starving.

"Now, this is the first year of this program, but I'm sure many of you know we have a few foreign exchange students. Twenty of them, to be exact, all from Salem Academy in America. They will be sorted and I trust you all will help show them around, as they are extremely far from home, in a new country, and surrounded by people they do not know. Bailey Ann please come up my dear." McGonagall called up the second year girl, who looked back nervously before standing and walking up to the hat.

Ravenclaw.

The hat said it so easy, it seemed to be easy for each student.

Gryffindor, Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw. All three houses seemed to be the popular one. Not a single was a Slytherin, which dumbfounded Benjamin, but then again, he assumed they all asked to not be placed in the house.

Now he felt nervous as McGonagall looked to him. "Benjamin Youngblood. Come along my dear." He got up quickly and trotted up to the hat, plopping down and forcing his nervousness down his throat.

"What up, sorting hat?" He questioned to the hat, who just sighed.

"Oh, you're trouble." He muttered, making a few students laugh. "I was hoping you'd be easy, but, you aren't. I can tell you right now, you won't be a Ravenclaw."

"Awah darn." Ben chuckled, actually feeling a little better. "I don't care for where you place me, honestly."

"I know you don't. Hm, you're a metamorphmagus, eh?" The hat asked and he nodded his head, changing his hair color to white. "Just like your grandmother, I see. Doesn't it upset you that you don't have anyone closer to your age back home that is like you?"

"Uh, no." Benjamin started to not feel so good now. "It's chill."

"It does help you stand out, I see. You look an awfully lot like your brother. You must hate to be compared to him." The hat continued and Benjamin wanted him to shut up. "You want me to quit talking?"

"That'd be great." He muttered, glaring best he could at the hat. "Look, I'm starving and you need to speed this up. Don't have all night." He temper was cut short now. He didn't need his personal business stated to this entire school.

"Well I'm not done yet. You are not a Hufflepuff. While loyal, you tend to not make the right choices all the time. You are a troublemaker, which leaves Slytherin and Gryffindor as your options. Odd, that no other American student has been placed in Slytherin." The hat was just trying to piss him off now. "You like to taunt others and cause trouble. You'd be a great partner to James Potter, now wouldn't you?"

He swore he saw McGonagall sigh.

"Potter and I don't see eye to eye. I don't think he likes me much. That's a shame, because I am a lovely person." Ben smirked at James, who rolled his eyes.

"Oh, you have confidence in you, don't you?" The hat asked. "You're quite fearless as well….but I can see, you will deceive others to get what you want. You're extremely cunning with the smile and charm."

"Get on with it." Ben chided, ready to eat.

"Don't rush me."

"Dude."

"Slytherin!" The hat echoed the hall and then it was silent. Ben felt the hat be taken off his head, so he stood, running a hand through his hair and smirked. The Slytherin table, now out of their shock, cheered loudly while the other houses stared in shock, surprised the friendly American boy was chosen for Slytherin.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thank you so much for the reviews! This chapter is a little choppy so I'm super sorry about that, but I wanted to show a little bit of each of his classes.**

* * *

><p>Benjamin felt the stares of the other American students on his back after the feast was over. They were whispering about him and how of course, he <em>would<em> get into Slytherin. He ignored them and followed the other new Slytherins and the Head Boy out of the Great Hall, where he took them to their common room and where they would be staying.

It was amazing. Truly amazing.

Their common room was under the lake! They had a giant squid in the lake! He could see it from the common room! He was amazed by it but he didn't get to relax for long, because he was ushered into his room. The four other males he shared a room with all looked at him like he had three heads.

"Good evening." One greeted Ben, then eyed his cat that was laying on Ben's bed. "That is your pet?"

"Oh, yes, this is Nick Fury, but you can just call him Fury. He got into trouble, so he only has one eye." Ben said as he reached over and patted the cat. It glared at him, but then started to purr. The other boys just rolled their eyes, and Ben knew sharing a room with them was going to be _fun_.

* * *

><p>He woke up the next morning groggy but he got out of bed. He changed into his uniform, which he wasn't too fond of. Sweater vests and long sleeve white undershirts with dress slacks were just not him. He pushed the sleeves up to his elbows, feeling much better.<p>

"Bye bud, be good." He told his cat before grabbing his bag and leaving his room.

"Good morning." Albus greeted him when he made it down the stairs to the common room. "Eleanor wanted me to make sure you made it to breakfast all right."

"Ellie's real sweet. You going to be my tour guide?" He questioned, more than happy to spend time with the cute boy. His hair turned bright pink at this.

"I'll leave that to Ellie, but I'll walk to the Great Hall with you. By the way, this is Scorpius, my best friend, and Rose, my cousin." Albus introduced Ben to a male with bleach blond hair and an annoyed look on his face, and to a girl with curly red hair with a smile on her face.

"Nice to meet you." He said, shaking their hands before following them to the Great Hall. "So, when can I wear my normal clothes?"

"When you aren't in classes." Rose replied, glancing at him. "Why? Are you not used to uniforms?"

"No, we wear them back in America, just, not usually sweater vests. I'm just happy to know I can wear normal clothes. My old school wouldn't allow it. Our dress code was so strict. I'd get in trouble for the rips in my jeans all the time." He continued, feeling like he was rambling.

"Rips in your jeans?" Scorpius looked a little bit confused at this.

"I wear a lot of ripped jeans." Ben told them with a smile. "I got to take care of kids a lot, so, my jeans get destroyed. They're pretty active children."

Scorpius looked at Ben with a bit of disdain in his eyes, but Rose elbowed him. "Don't be pretentious, Scorpius. Sorry, Ben, Scorpius was raised with such a posh lifestyle. He's still learning. I figured he'd know by now that everyone wears rip jeans but I guess he doesn't."

"Heh, no worries. I knew what Slytherin was going to be like." Ben shrugged. "So, am I allowed to sit with Ellie or do I need to sit with my house?"

"You can sit wherever, but normally people sit with people in their house." Rose answered him as they entered the great hall. "It's unusually to sit with people who aren't in your house. Why? Do you want to sit with people other than Slytherin?" She tilted her head slightly. "Oh! You probably want to sit with Eleanor, right? You're staying at her place on the foreign exchange program, yesh? What is it like living with her family? I bet all they do is talk about Quidditch…wait, are you dating her?" Rose rambled.

"It's great living with them, and we are not dating. Perfect! Thanks for walking with me!" He smiled before he hurried over to Ellie, who was sitting with the twins. He plopped down next to her, startling her. She looked at him, then at his bright pink hair which was messy. She rolled her eyes and ran her fingers through it, trying to make it look neat.

"He's strange." Scorpius said with raised eyebrows.

"I like him." Albus told them as they went to their usual spot. Albus took a while to warm up to new people, but the male was a little strange, and it was interesting.

"Oh, I do too." Scorpius said. "But you can't deny the fact that he's strange."

* * *

><p>"You can't sit with me at lunch, okay?" Eleanor told Ben as he finished up his breakfast.<p>

"That's Ellie's study time." Lorcan told him with a small smile. "You will be too much of a distraction, which I enjoy, but she won't." Lysander nodded his head at this.

"So, no lunch with us. Dinner is fine though." Eleanor nodded her head. "After class, we need to practice so you can be ready for try-outs in October. I want you on that Slytherin Quidditch team."

"I can do that." He told her, eager to make her happy.

"You'll spoil her if you keep it up." Lysander told him as he finished his own breakfast.

"I don't mind. Eleanor is my best friend, I like to spoil her." Ben said with a smile. This made Eleanor very happy.

"So what is your schedule?" Lysander asked.

"Ah, here." He handed them the paper, because telling them it would be too complex.

"That's not so bad. You got mostly Thursdays and Fridays free." Lorcan said, looking at his schedule to see if they had any classes together. "I have Charms with you. I wish we had magical creatures together, I love that class!"

"I hope you're good at them." Ben told him, referring to charms.

"I have Divination and Astronomy with you. Also History of Magic." Eleanor told him, dotting the classes with a blue pen so he would remember. "I got a glimpse at Potter's schedule earlier. Seems you have Defense Against The Dark Arts and Potions with him, along with Divination."

"Oh, lovely. I can play some nice pranks on him in those classes…" Ben smirked, thinking of all the things he could do.

"Well, let's get going, Monday first block, History of Magic waits for no one." She stood and Ben followed her out of the class, whining a bit when she stepped onto a staircase. Ben hopped on before it started to move.

The moving stairwells were awful and he didn't want to even think about them. He already knew he was going to have issues with them. He just followed Eleanor closely, ignoring the whispers of other students.

"Is it weird that I'm hanging around you?" He questioned Eleanor, who didn't seemed bothered by the stares.

"No. Not that I think so. You can be friends with other houses, nothing is wrong with it." She told him and patted his cheek affectionately. "And when you become the best beater the Slytherin house has ever seen, then everyone will want to be your friend!"

Quidditch. God. These people were obsessed with it. OBSESSED.

"Whatever you want, my dear Eleanor." He told her and she smirked at him.

* * *

><p>Eleanor walked him to Potions class, told him to behave (to which he replied with changing his hair to bright orange) and left him. He was one of the first to arrive to the class, so he plopped down at a lab station, or whatever they called them here, and waited.<p>

The class filled up quickly, though no one sat with Ben. He didn't mind it too much, because mostly everyone in the class was Gryffindor except for maybe four Slytherins. They, of course, partnered with each other and he was the odd out. Being alone didn't bother him too much, he could work better along most likely.

That's when Potter rushed in. The Professor eyed him, telling him to "Take a seat Potter, and I hope you won't be late again" and James looked around, searching for a seat.

"Potter, since you were late, your picking of partners is slim. Go sit with Mr. Youngblood. Maybe he can teach you a thing or two about arriving early." The Professor told James, who just groaned and trudged over to Ben. Ben smirked widely as James sat down and glared at him.

"Hey, Potter." Ben greeted and James swore he saw the Slytherin's canine teeth grow sharp. "Lucky me, getting the great James Potter as my partner."

"Shut up, Youngblood." James growled back, angry that he got stuck with the American.

* * *

><p>"This class is bullshit." Ben muttered as he watched Eleanor play with the magic orb, trying to see into the future. She was at a small round table next to him with Alice. Ben was by himself at his own table, bored out of his mind.<p>

"Potter, you are looking bored." The professor said, looking at James, who sat by himself at a table. "Move over there with Mr. Youngblood." The male groaned, but stood, grabbing his bag, and moved over to Ben's table.

"Hey, bestie." Ben smirked and James rolled his eyes, as his cousins, Molly and Fred, both laughed at him for being paired with the Slytherin.

"Now…" The teacher began talking and Ben zoned it out, doodling on his paper until she pointed at him.

"What?" Ben questioned, giving her an odd look.

"She just predicated you as the student that will die this year." Alice told him and he just looked at her.

"Well…" He muttered, sighing. "This isn't that surprising anymore..."

"Don't worry, it never comes true." James replied, doing little to make Benjamin feel better. He decided to brush it off, because the professor was basically a mad woman.

* * *

><p>Benjamin assumed that Defense Against the Dark Arts would be a dark classroom with a scary teacher.<p>

He was wrong.

Which, honestly, wasn't that surprising but still.

Everything on the professor's desk was purple. He just stared at the desk, trying to figure out how she got everything purple, when she walked into the classroom.

She was a fairly normal looking woman. She had black hair up in a bun and purple glasses and an entirely purple outfit. "Hello, students." Her voice was light and she sounded nervous. "Let me introduce myself properly, I am Professor Selwyn. I will be teaching you defense against the Dark Arts. I hope we all have a great year." She smiled, seemingly friendly. "Now class, open your book to page three hundred and ninety-four."

* * *

><p>Benjamin felt like napping after he left the class. All the professor did was talk and read straight from the book. He wanted to do some magic, not read. He thought being here meant he got more hands on learning, but that class was not the case.<p>

"Youngblood!" Eleanor called out and Ben looked around for her before he spotted her in the crowd. "Don't forget, we are practicing Quidditch today."

"Ellie, I'm so tired. Can I take a nap first?" He questioned, his voice getting whiney. "That last professor was a total bore."

"You need to wake yourself up." She grabbed ahold of his arm and pulled him along with her. "We've got until November to get you in shape. Well, technically, October, since you need to get on the team and make it through practice."

"Shouldn't you worry more about preparing yourself?"

"I'm always ready for Quidditch. I want you on this team so you can kick James' ass." Eleanor balled her fist, looking determined.

"Fine, fine, if it makes you happy." He let himself be pulled as other students looked at them like they were crazy.

He came to find out, some students were very strict about who they choose to be seen with. Some only stuck with other students in their house, and some didn't care. Ben was one who didn't care. His only real friend was Eleanor.

"Where are you two running off to?" Albus questioned as they hurried past him and Scorpius.

"I'm going to make Benjamin the best beater the Slytherin house as ever seen!" Eleanor exclaimed excitedly, stopping to chat with them. "Are you two going to try out?"

"We prefer to sit in the stands and make snide comments about the others." Scorpius shrugged and Ben laughed loudly. He liked Scorpius, he was snarky. "Still, I'm going out to be keeper this year, but I'll sit out this practice."

"We are quite good at that." Albus agreed with a small smirk.

"Well you'll get to make fun of Ben, because he's getting on that team!" Eleanor was far too hyped about this. Ben didn't want to let her down.

"I can do it!" He exclaimed, trying to pump himself up.

He really didn't want to let Eleanor down.

"You guys want to come watch?" Eleanor asked and they two fourth years looked at each other and nodded their heads. They joined them as they headed to the field.

* * *

><p>"Why is he here?" Ben questioned as James and two of his friends joined them on the field.<p>

"Ignore them. They're here to cause trouble, but you're training with me." She told him, keeping her chin up. "Now, every morning, you'll be joining me for a jog. We have to do it early and get back in time for class or we'll get in trouble."

"I dunno…" Ben murmured. "Fine fine, I'll do it. Whatever makes you happy." He told her and stretched, cracking his back just as James, Fred, and Frank walked by. "Potter, what are you doing here? Couldn't get enough of me in Potions and Defense Against the Dark Arts?"

"I have more than enough of you. I'd like to have less, actually." James replied snidely. "We're allowed to practice here just as much as you are."

"Just stay out of our way." Eleanor told him and looked back to Ben, who was holding his bat tightly.

"Am I allowed to hit other players?"

"Oh, I wish." Eleanor muttered, glaring at the back of James' head. "Now, get ready, because when I let the bludger loose, because I'm only letting one go, you know it'll go crazy. It actually helps that James and his little groupies are here. You can practice and protect them from it."

"Can't promise that." He said as he put his goggles on. He climbed on his broomstick as Ellie let the bludger lose. She climbed on her broomstick after releasing the snitch and both took off. James and his friends quickly joined them in the sky.

"This could turn out horribly." Albus told Scorpius, who just nodded his head.

"Oh, here you two idiots are." Rose said as she walked over to them and plopped down next to Scorpius. "What are we doing?"

"We were watching Benjamin and Eleanor practice." Scorpius explained. "But James and his friends decided to join in."

"Interesting." Rose murmured, resting her hand on her knee and watching closely as the bludger flew towards Eleanor. Ben quickly slammed his bat into it and sent it flying. "Oh. He's got muscles." Rose grinned. "How did he get into Slytherin with the rest of us? Maybe he's one of those people that you need to get to know before he shows his true colors? Oh, god, I hope he's not an asshole. We already have one in the group, I can't take another." She muttered, looking to Scorpius, who just rolled his eyes.

"Everyone asks that." Albus said as he thought about the other students that were in the house with them. Benjamin was far friendlier and open than many of the others. He was more of a Gryffindor, if anything, but he was sure that once they got to know Ben more, they'd see why the hat placed him in Slytherin.

"I don't see how he got in." Rose said as Ben slammed his bat into the bludgers again, this time it smacked right into James, almost knocking him off his broom.

"Oh, terribly sorry, Potter." Ben called out in a sarcastic tone, and flew by the trio sitting in the bleachers, laughing loudly.

"I can see it." Scorpius told them, nodding his head. "He'll make a good addition to the Quidditch team. Not as great as an addition as me, but, a close second."

"I'll get you, Youngblood!" James shouted and flew after him. Ben's laughed echoed around them and they heard the crack of his bat against the bludgers and James' scream at Ben as the bludger flew at him.

"Play the game, Potter!" Ben called back as one of James' friends, his cousin Fred, slammed a bludger towards Ellie.

"Ben!" Ellie shouted as she saw it come near her. She was so close to catching the snitch!

"I got your back." He told her as he hit the bludger back, his hit hard and powerful. His grip on his bat was tight and he grinned when Fred had to dodge out of the way to avoid getting hit.

"Got it!" Eleanor screamed as she grabbed the snitch. She grinned at Ben, who flew towards her.

"Ha, yes!" He grinned happily as Eleanor smiled widely at him.

"You were great today!" She told him, excited by the whole practice. "You slammed that bludger hard!"

"I was aiming for Potter, not goin' lie." He told her as they lowered themselves down. "But thank you."

"This is going to be a great school year for us." She smiled at him and he smiled back.

"OW!" He shouted as a bludger hit him on his side. He fell off his broom, which was almost to the ground so the fall wasn't that bad, and hit the ground with a thud. "F-Fuck…."

"Are you okay?!" Eleanor dropped to the ground quickly and dropped her broom, hurrying over to him.

"I'm fine…" He groaned, slowly standing, but holding his side. "You're okay, right?"

"Yes, of course I'm fine! I wasn't the one that got hit by one of those things. Who the hell hit him with it? We're obviously done with practice! I got the snitch!" She shouted at the three, reaching for Ben's bat. "Lemme come up there and beat some sense into you!"

"It was an accident." James shrugged.

"Well it won't be an accident when I knock you out!" She screamed up at him and Ben patted her shoulder, shaking his head.

"Don't worry about it. I'll get him back later. Too many witnesses right now." He glared at James. Ellie dropped the bat and picked up her and Ben's brooms.

"Fine. You three can put all the equipment up. Let's go Ben." She put her arm around him and he leaned a bit on her, making it less painful for him to move. James glared at Ben as they walked off the field. "Are you sure you're okay? You had no protective equipment on really..."

"It'll be fine. I have tons of little siblings. I'm used to being beat up." He told her with a sigh.

"Are you okay?" Rose questioned, meeting them once they put their brooms up. Scorpius and Albus were behind her, looking at him.

"I'm fine, don't worry about it." Ben brushed it off and stood on his own now. "Your brother is such a dick though." He told Albus, who agreed.

"You did very well." Scorpius said with a head nod. "Your hits were hard and strong. You'll make the team if you play like that all the time."

"Let me see your side." Eleanor said, reaching for his sweater.

"Its fine, Ellie." He moved away from she glared at him, so he gave in quickly. She lifted up his sweater then his undershirt, wincing when she saw his side.

"Oh god, Ben, that looks horrible." She looked at his already bruising side. It looked horrible and painful. "I'm going to get James for this!"

"I'll take care of him." He pushed his clothes back down over his side. "I have a decent pain tolerance. It really doesn't hurt that bad, but Potter will pay for this."


	4. Chapter 4

**Sorry about the delay in updating, but this one won't be updated too too too often. Possibly once every two weeks? Sorry, but Harry Potter takes me a while to write.**

* * *

><p>Benjamin watched as James carefully measured out an ingredient for a potion they were assigned to create.<p>

It was two weeks after the incident on the Quidditch field.

James had suspected foul play the first week, but Benjamin wasn't an idiot. He waited it out until James became comfortable again and wasn't suspecting any attacks form Ben.

"Are you sure it said ¾ cups?" James questioned Benjamin, who just nodded his head.

No, it said a tiny pinch of the ingredient, but hey, James was an idiot for trusting in his Slytherin partner, whom he had injured two weeks prior. The second the Gryffindor male added the ingredient, it exploded in his face. His entire head was now blue.

"What the hell?!" He exclaimed, almost falling out of his seat. He wiped his face as Benjamin laughed loudly, along with a few other students. He rubbed his face, getting some of the blue off, but it was in his hair, and it was much harder to get out there.

"Dude, are you okay?" Ben asked, trying to sound concerned. "Oh, man, you added the wrong thing! It was a pinch of the blue ivy and ¾ cup of the will water!"

"I asked you like, three times about the blue ivy!" James exclaimed, pissed at Ben. The Slytherin must have planned this!

"I must have read it wrong. My bad." He said nonchalantly with a shrug. "Water will wash it off."

* * *

><p>Water did not wash it off.<p>

"What happened to your brother?" Scorpius asked Albus at lunch. They all looked to the Gryffindor table, where James was sitting with his bright blue hair.

"Accident in potions." Ben said as he took a bite of his food. A slow smirk crept onto his face when the three younger Slytherins looked at him.

"What it really an 'accident'? Or was this on purpose?" Rose questioned, eyebrows raised. During lunch, Ben usually just listened to them talk, and even after two weeks of him sitting with them at lunch, she still didn't know much about him.

"Ah, that is a secret." He smirked more widely now. "If Potter wants to play, I'll play. When he's decided he's had enough, I'll stop."

At this time, a few owls flew into the room, dropping off letters to everyone. Ben turned away as James received a few letters. The letters began to shake, before exploding open.

"JAMES SIRIUS POTTER! HOW DARE YOU CHEAT ON ME WITH THAT HUFFLEPUFF GIRL! I SHALL NEVER SPEAK TO YOU AGAIN!" A shrill female voice screamed. Multiple howlers went off, all saying the same thing. James looked terrified once they were done and exploded.

"W-What?" He squeaked, confused by what just happened.

"Always knew Potter was a man-whore." Eleanor sneered, looking over her shoulder.

"Who have you been snogging?" Fred questioned James, snickering with the others.

"No one! I wasn't with a girl in Hufflepuff. I wasn't with any girls recently at all." He looked confused, and still a bit frazzled.

"I knew you were a bit of a player, Potter, but aren't Gryffindors supposed to be loyal?" Ben questioned, catching James' attention.

"You sent them, didn't you?" Rose questioned Ben quietly, once the male turned back around to face them. "Honestly, you're the only one to do it. Well, actually, now that I think about it, James probably does piss a lot of people off. Lily could have sent them even."

"Might have." Ben told her. "Ya know he burned Ellie's hair to the roots one year?" He questioned them. "I cannot allow that, and him hitting me with a bludger, to go unpunished."

"You are cruel. I enjoy that." Scorpius smirked at this.

"You've been here not even a month and you've already caused my brother trouble." Albus said, glancing at James. "He did deserve it though."

"I only dish it out when the person deserves it. Or if I'm bored." Ben looked amused by himself, before his eye caught the letter that was next to his things. "Oh, I got a letter?" He reached for it, and it began to shake. "Oh no."

"BENJAMIN. WHERE IS THE GLITTER GLUE? CLARA HAS A PROJECT DUE NEXT WEEK AND I REFUSE TO WASTE MY MONEY ON GLITTER GLUE." The howler screamed in a deep male voice.

"That's my brother." He told them as the howler exploded. He pulled out his own paper and quill. "My little sister, Clara, tends to hide things. She's trouble, I tell ya." He chuckled as he began to write a reply. "My guess would be under her bed. I swear, sometimes I think she might actually be a witch."

"You have nine siblings, right?" Albus thought back to lunch he had with Ben in Diagon Alley.

"Yup! I got my step siblings on my mom's side, Trent and Millie. Then my half-siblings Chris and Gigi. I don't see them too much. I don't really see my mom much, actually." He reached into his pocket, pulling out a picture he had. He pointed each of them out. "My mom and step father." He pointed to a woman with her hair in a long braid. She had light brown hair and very light green eyes hidden behind her glasses. She was smiling widely as her husband had his arm around her, his hair short and black. The two older kids looked nothing like her, but the two youngest were the spitting image of her.

"Why don't you see her often?" Albus questioned.

"She's a muggle. Parents divorced when I was young and my pops charmed her and wiped her memory of magic….since I'm a metamorphmagus, I changed myself a lot when I was younger. It kinda made it hard for my dad to really wipe her memories, and sort of replace them. Well….yeah, it's not really that bad at all. She remembers all the good stuff."

"Oh..." Rose mumbled, feeling bad for him. She was going to say more, probably say more than needed, but Ben cut her off before she could start.

"It's fine, no worries!" He exclaimed. "Lemme show you my pop's side." He pulled out another picture, this one moving. "This is my dad." He pointed towards a male who had blond hair and striking blue eyes. He was smiling at Ben's stepmother, a beautiful woman with long brown hair and brown eyes. "That's my step mom, she's a squib. Right here is my brother, Mitchell." He pointed to a male who looked just like the father. He crossed his arms and sighed at the male next to who looked just like Mitchell and Ben's father. "And these are my half-siblings. Greg, Kenneth, Marcie, and my little angel, Clara!" He cooed the last name and they looked to the young girl, who had short brown hair and green eyes. She was being picked up and spun around by the male Ben left unnamed

"Who is the boy?" Albus pointed. Ben quickly pulled the picture back and stuffed it back into his pocket.

"Ah, yeah, that's me." He looked embarrassed.

"That boy looked nothing like you though." Rose furrowed her brows.

"I look too much like my brother and father, and my grandfather. I don't like looking like them much, and I have the ability to change what I look like, so, I do." He shrugged and finished up his letter. "I wish I looked more like Clara. She's an angel." He continued.

Eleanor stood and was waiting by the door. She nodded her head and Ben gathered his things, putting them in his bag. "Sorry, but Ellie's waiting. I'll see you guys later." He waved before hurrying off to join the girl. He showed her his letter and she nodded her head. They both left, Ben laughing about something.

"I like him." Rose said after a few moments. "He's very different."

* * *

><p>Benjamin didn't want to hate Defense Against the Dark Arts.<p>

He really didn't.

However, the class was as boring as boring got. Even Herbology with Professor Longbottom was more entertaining. The professor just read from the book. She claimed it was how her mother taught just before she was tragically killed. Maybe reading theories all day is what killed her?

He wasn't too sure. He didn't even think her mother was dead. Maybe she knew her child would grow up to be the weirdest lady alive and just ran off? Maybe got locked away because she was crazier than her daughter?

Whatever the case was, he wasn't really learning anything. He had to go to Eleanor to re-teach him everything, because he couldn't deal with just theory. He needed hands on to learn anything at all.

"Youngblood, you look sleepy. I do hope you stay awake. I would hate to give you detention." The professor scolded and he grumbled a 'sorry I'll get more sleep tonight' before glancing at James, who still had blue hair. He decided he'd give James a break for a little while. Let him get comfortable again, and then come back full force with more pranks and tricks.

He was happy it was Friday and he could catch up on his homework, possibly. He thought that he'd get a head start on it after this class was over, but Eleanor was waiting for him outside the class, ready to talk Quidditch.

Alice was with her today, which was not that surprising. Eleanor had many of her classes with the short, black haired female. She was extremely adorable and had a nice light voice. She was a bit shy, but Ben hoped she was warming up to him.

"Ready to practice today?" Eleanor questioned.

"I was hoping to actually do my homework before I flunk out of this place, but sure, why not?" He shrugged and Eleanor rolled her eyes, walking away. Alice and Ben followed quickly.

"Alice and I will tutor you after practice today, okay? You know you can get Albus to help you with some classes. He's a year younger but he's smart." Eleanor told him, glancing over her shoulder at the now blue haired boy. "Benjamin, pick a color."

"Fine." He muttered, making his hair green and eyes gray. "Can't do red eyes because it freaks people out. How boring." He pouted at Alice, who smiled a bit.

"Get serious! Try outs are less than a week from now!" Eleanor stressed.

"Do not worry, my fair princess, I will make the team." He smirked as she turned and smacked his arm. "Hey now, don't go hitting me! I was being completely serious. You are a princess!"

"And what does that make you?" Alice questioned, head tilted slightly. "Her knight in shining armor?"

"I don't and won't play a romantic role in Ellie's life." He shook his head at this. "I'm more like the dragon that protects her from those pathetic knights."

* * *

><p>"So, that's why that spell doesn't work as well as this one." Alice told Ben over breakfast Saturday morning. She was teaching him Charms, because she was amazing at it and Ben was not.<p>

"Uh…" He mumbled, jiggling his leg as he stared at the book she was reading out of.

"Benjamin, I really don't understand how you excel so greatly at transfiguration and get so into detail about it and manage to outdo all of us in it, yet you cannot learn about Charms or Potions." Eleanor sighed, blowing her bangs out of her face, a little frustrated with him.

"Ellie, I found something I was good at and went with it. My family is kinda a one trick pony. Dad is charms, brother is potions and herbs and all that healer stuff, and I am transfiguration. Grandma is everything but that's because she's way smarter than all of us." He rambled, making Alice giggle. "I know you lot are all well rounded, but, I'm not." He told the Ravenclaws with a sigh. "However if you need someone pranked, I'm your guy. I won't let anyone mess with you four."

"I feel protected already." Lorcan said with his hand over his heart. Ben laughed at this and McGonagall came up behind him, eyebrows raised.

"I do hope you're working on your homework for my class, Mr. Youngblood." She said and he turned around quickly.

"I already have yours done!" He exclaimed with a huge smile. He loved McGonagall to pieces. "Your class is my favorite, right up there with Hagrid's class."

"Sweet talking will not work with me. I will not teach you how to turn into an animal, Mr. Youngblood." She said and he groaned, voice whiny.

"But McGonagall, I could be a dragon!"

"That's exactly why I will not teach you. Heaven forbid you will burn down this school. Boom." She said with an eye roll. "Ms. Wood, I do hope you will keep him under close surveillance."

"Of course, professor." Eleanor nodded her head and smacked Benjamin over the head. He whined, hair turning blue at this. She turned away and left them and Ben watched her.

"Dude, she's the baddest bitch in this school." He said excitedly. "McGonagall is so cool!"

"I knew you'd like her." Lysander said with a smirk.

"Love her." Ben told him, nodding his head. "Her class is so much fun. My old transfiguration teacher back in America was so boring and strict. He always gave us such easy work and I was done with it so quickly. She actually challenges me. She reminds me of my grandma."

"You really love your grandma, don't you?" Alice asked him, finding it sweet how fondly he spoke of her.

"Oh, yeah, tons! She taught me a lot and she's just like me. It was hard enough for me when I was younger with my….ability…but I dunno what I would've done without her there to raise me through it." He continued. "Plus, she made me tons of dragon stuff! Hagrid loaned me this book about dragons an-"

"Enough." Eleanor told him, stopping him mid-ramble. "I don't think I can take more dragon talk…" She sighed, rubbing her temples. She always knew far more than she wanted.

"I get excited easily." He told her, feeling embarrassed. "Dragons are really cool though. Hey, you talk about Quidditch all the time."

"Do I really sound like that though?" She asked and everyone nodded their head.

"I don't mind. Tell me about dragons, Ben." Alice nodded her head as Ben smiled widely. He launched into long detailed discussion of the differences of dragons across the continents. Alice just listened, nodding her head every so often during his ramble.

"You know an awful lot about dragons." She mumbled after he was done. "I really didn't think you had all of that in you, honestly."

"When I like something, I tend to go all out in it." He admitted sheepishly. "My grandma actually sent me this cool book that has every dragon ever recorded in history in it! Best birthday present ever." He nodded his head excitedly and Eleanor froze.

"Birthday?" She questioned, looking at him. "Your birthday isn't until….oh my god!" She exclaimed, catching a few other students' attention. "Ben, why didn't you tell me that I forgot your birthday?"

"When was your birthday?" Lorcan asked, head tilted.

"September thirteenth." He answered.

It was September twentieth.

"Ben!" Eleanor exclaimed, embarrassed. "I'm your best friend and I couldn't even remember your birthday. Oh my god, and I was so mean to you when we practice that day too!"

"Don't worry about it, seriously." He shook his head. "I really don't celebrate my birthday that much anyway. Ellie, it's not that big of a deal. I didn't mention it, so I didn't expect any of you to know."

"How did you get sorted into Slytherin?" Alice questioned, shaking her head. She would expect a Slytherin to be hateful about it but Ben was so carefree.

"People ask me that quite a lot." He replied.

"Wow, Eleanor, forgetting your best friend's birthday?" James snickered as he walked by. Ben wasted no time wiping out his wand and pointing it at James' feet. The boy slipped and fell immediately.

"Graceful as ever, Potter." He called with a smirk and put his wand away. James turned and glared at him as he stood up.

"You want to go, Youngblood?"

"That's not a very fair fight, is it, Potter?" Benjamin replied. "You can barely walk without slipping, you might want to sit down for a bit."

"Hey, enough you two." Frank Longbottom called, standing from his spot at the Hufflepuff table. "No need to be causing a racket during breakfast."

"You're right, Frank." Ben said, keeping his smirk on his face. "Hey Ellie, let's go to the library. Hagrid told me there's tons of books about dragons there!"

"Fine fine." She gathered her things into her bag and stood, saying goodbye to their group as Ben bounced happily on his feet. "You're just like a puppy." She told him as she straightened her sweater out. She was thankful she had no classes today and she was able to wear her favorite sweater and nice warm pants. She began to walk and Ben followed, until he slipped. Eleanor was caught in the spell as well and she yelped, but Ben caught himself from falling, and caught her before she hit the ground.

"What's your problem, Potter?" Ben growled, turning to glare at the male. His hair was now bright red and he was more than ready to go after him. "Ya almost knocked Eleanor over."

James actually looked a little scared, but he wasn't going to back down with people looking at him. He stood up straighter, glaring back at Ben.

"Ben, come on." Eleanor tugged at his arm, feeling awkward with everyone staring at them. "We don't want to get in trouble. Just leave him to look like an ass."

"Not that hard, he does it all by himself." He muttered and turned back to Eleanor, listening to her. She pulled on his arm, keeping a firm hold on it as they walked out of the hall. "Are you okay?"

"Yes, I'm fine." Eleanor patted his arm to reassure him that she was fine. "Are you okay?"

"Of course. Potter doesn't get to me at all. I just like to strike fear into his heart. I know he thinks he's all that but I'm about to knock him off his throne."

"Please do." Eleanor said as she guided him to the library. "Oh, hello Albus." Eleanor said as they opened the door to the library. The male glanced up at them, his green sweater matching his eyes perfectly.

"Oh, morning you two." He greeted them, getting out of their way. "Going to work on some homework?"

"We might, but we're mostly here for dragon books for Ben." Eleanor nodded towards Ben, who nodded his head happily.

"Sounds interesting. Better than writing a paper on different kinds of seaweed." He made a face and chuckled. He waved goodbye and left, leaving the two to go into the library.

"You know, Benjamin, I really am puzzled at how you got into Slytherin." He was extremely kindhearted and caring, to her, anyway.

"You wanna hear some advice my dad gave me?" He asked her, confusing her a bit, but she nodded her head. "My father has always taught me to be nice first, because you can always be mean later, but once you've been mean to someone, they won't believe the nice anymore. So be nice, be nice, until it's time to stop being nice, then destroy them." He smirked at the end, nodding his head. "I only get one shot to make a good impression. If I'm nice, people are more willing to assist me later on, and everyone needs a good group of allies in this life."


	5. Chapter 5

"Hey, Ben, I heard you talking about your family with Al and the others." A male said, sitting down next to him. "My sister lives over in America. I think she knows your family."

"Really?" He questioned, interested. He wasn't expecting someone here to know his family.

"Yeah, what's your mother's name?"

"Darleen, Darleen Hart." He replied and the male nodded his head.

"Yup, that's her. My sister is working at this muggle store right now while she waits for her application to go through for America's Ministry of Magic. She says your mom comes into her store all the time and she's a real sweet women." The male smiled at Ben, nodding his head.

"Yeah, my mom is really nice. She's a good woman." Ben felt a pang in his chest and suddenly he wasn't feeling so good.

"She ain't a witch?"

"Nah, she's muggle." He said and he saw the professor look at him. He felt nervous suddenly, so he changed his hair to black, hoping maybe to blend in with the other students since his previous hair color was bright blue.

"Youngblood, do not go changing your appearance in my classroom."

"Aw, but, professor, what if I turn my hair purple? You like purple, don't you?" He questioned, hoping to get on her good side. She didn't look too pleased with him. He looked down, staring at his book to avoid her glare.

"I would prefer it, Youngblood, you keep your appearance normal when you are in my classroom. No odd colors at all. Actually, I would like you to go back to your natural appearance."

"I can't do that." He told her sternly, shaking his head.

"And why not?" She questioned, approaching his desk.

"I just can't. I don't want to go to my natural look. I prefer this." He told her and she glared.

"Well I guess you'll just spend your free time in detention with me today. My office, don't be late." She told him before going to the front and starting class.

* * *

><p>"Ellie, I got detention. It shouldn't be that long." He told her and she sighed, shaking her head.<p>

"Fine. I'll wait out here for you. Okay? I've got to read this book and do a little homework anyway, and then we can go hit the field."

"Got it!" He grinned and hurried off to Professor Selwyn's office. He knocked on the door gently, and heard a quiet 'come in dear'. He opened the door and froze.

Everything was purple.

And bunnies were everywhere.

He tried to play it off and not looked so terrified for his life as he sat down at a desk she had for him. She had paintings all over the walls of bunnies. Granted, they were cute, but it was freaky.

"My mother had a collection of cat plates…..I prefer bunnies. They are so cute. Don't you agree?"

"Oh, yes ma'am." He nodded his head as she stood from behind her desk and walked around it slowly. He watched her, on edge. Something didn't feel right. Something told him to run.

"You've only been here for a month, correct, Mr. Youngblood?"

Mr. Youngblood?

"Uh, yes ma'am."

"And you were sorted into Slytherin? The only American student to do so. I would think, since you are in Slytherin, that you would behave better. I really do not want to punish you, but if I don't, you'll just continue your troublesome behavior." She put a piece of paper in front of him, and handed him a quill. "I would like you to write 'I must not stand out' ten times. You need not any ink, and once you are done with it, you may leave."

Oh, well, that wasn't so bad. He started to write it quickly, excited that the punishment was easy.

That's when he felt a stinging feeling on his right hand. "O-Ow…" He mumbled as he slowed down writing. He saw the light pink letter on his hand and he stared at her, now knowing why he felt the need to run.

"Come on, Youngblood. Eight more times." She watched him carefully. He wrote more slowly now, hoping maybe it would stop, but it didn't. By the time he was done, he had the words on his hand, but they were starting to fade like tiny scratches often did. "Wonderful! Now, if you decide to act up again, I'll have to make the punishment more severe. You're free to go."

He got up and grabbed his bag, not looking back as he hurried out of the office. He rubbed his hand, seeing that his hand showed no signs of what just happened. He was going to tell Eleanor what happened, but he let it go, not wanting to cause a ruckus when the pain had already faded and he didn't have any scarring.

* * *

><p>He kept quiet about it as he continued on with his life at Hogwarts. He didn't want to cause a scene, though that was what he was good at, still, he tried to forget about it. She watched him like a cat would a mouse, just waiting for that moment she could catch him doing wrong.<p>

Eleanor had her head in Quidditch and he decided to take a lesson from her and focus in on it as well.

The rest of September flew by and it was mid-October before Benjamin knew it. He hadn't had many incidents that were too memorable which he supposed was okay. From what he heard from other students, Hogwarts had a habit of throwing you for a loop when you least expected it, though they all doubted their school time here would be as bad as their parents' experiences during their school time.

Benjamin highly doubted the Dark Lord would come crashing down so that was a good thing, he supposed.

James Potter wouldn't be able to defeat him anyway.

Speaking of James Potter, the little shit was catching onto Benjamin's pranks, finally, and was starting to fight back. So far, Benjamin's favorite pair of jeans were bright pink, Professor Longbottom gave him a T on his paper since all the words were magically gone, and Benjamin had an attack of screamers at lunch for three days straight.

"Potter will get it." He muttered at lunch, face in a scowl, an expression he didn't wear often. "I'll have to go all out on him. Hm..." He thought as he doodled across a paper he had out. He seemed to be deep in thought and was just doodling to keep his hands doing something.

"What are you muttering about?" Rose questioned, peering over his shoulder as she sat down. "What are you drawing?"

"What?" He questioned, snapping out of his thoughts. "Revenge for Potter. Drawing?" He questioned and looked down at the drawing of the squid that was under the lake. "Sorry. My grandma says I do this all the time. I tend to zone out. I was super deep into my head."

"That's really good." She said now, pulling the paper away from him. "I hope your plan for James is as good as this." Her eyes scanned the drawing. It was rough but it was very good. Benjamin obviously had been drawing for a long time.

"I hope so. Uh, thank you." He seemed embarrassed that she was looking so closely at his rough doodle of the squid. She smiled brightly at him, her red curly hair bouncing as she giggled.

"You're all embarrassed now, aren't you Benny?" She giggled more and he ran his fingers through his hair.

"People tended to ignore my doodles. I have this nasty habit of drawing on everything when I get in the zone." He took the paper back from her and began again as Albus and Scorpius joined them. "Though I need to focus if my plan for Potter is going to work."

"What plan?" Albus questioned, brushing his brown bangs out of his face.

"Oh…nothing much. Say, you three think I could pull off Eleanor?" He asked, face lit up. All three looked at him and confused expressions. "This sounds creepy, but I've been watching how she moves and reacts and works since I've met her. I'm pretty confident I can morph into her for this prank I'm planning for Potter."

"With as much time as you spend with her, I doubt it'll be difficult for you." Scorpius told him, eager to see how this was going to go. "Won't being a female be difficult though?"

"Only problem with females is how delicate they can be with how they do things. Walking, touching, talking, are softer than most males. However, this is Ellie we're talking about, and try outs for Quidditch are starting soon, which means Quidditch season is upon us. Eleanor is not so gentle nor delicate during this season." He smirked, the plan working in his head. "Ha, this will be great. I'll get that Potter far better than he ever thought I would."

"Your smirking is worrying me." Rose muttered, seeing the dastardly smirk on the male.

* * *

><p>It was early Sunday morning and Benjamin was standing on the Quidditch field, yawning as the captain of the Slytherin team was talking to them about how this try out was going to go.<p>

Each house had their own corner of the field and he constantly glanced over to Eleanor, who was far too into this. He looked to the stands and saw Albus there, reading a book, with Rose right beside him. Bailey was a few seats away from them. She saw Ben look at her and waved, smiling brightly.

She was in his year and a real sweetheart. She always helped him back in America since she was the smartest in their year. Alice was next to her and waved at Ben as well.

"American, pay attention." The captain said, not remembering Benjamin's name. He apparently didn't think that Benjamin would make the team. Americans were apparently terrible at Quidditch.

The captain began talking again, telling them what they were going to do. Scorpius elbowed Benjamin, giving him a cheeky grin as Benjamin was called up along with the other beaters.

"Hit the hardest and guard the others, got it?" Was all the captain said. Benjamin supposed that's really all they needed to be told as he blew the whistle and they took off. Benjamin was going to get on this team, no matter what. A bludger flew straight for him and he slammed his bat into it. It was sent flying, almost knocking a Hufflepuff beater off of their broom.

"Oh, shit, sorry!" Benjamin called out to him. He knew it was a free for all up here, but the guy just got up there and was still trying to adjust himself. The Hufflepuff just gave him a thumbs up and sent the bludger flying back to Benjamin. Once again he hit it, sending it spinning at another Slytherin trying out for beater. They were hit in the chest with it and had to hold onto their broom for dear life.

Ben was knocked in the back by one. He was lucky the hit wasn't hard, but it threw him off a bit. He turned and saw Hugh, Alice's Gryffindor boyfriend, chuckling. The male hated Benjamin and the feelings were mutual.

Hugh was really jackass, honestly. He was a cocky bastard and it felt nice to hit that bludger as hard as he could and knock Hugh off of his broom. He was too busy laughing to notice it fly towards him. He was lucky another Gryffindor beater, his best friend Jack, noticed and caught his friend before he hit the ground.

He glanced to his captain and grinned. The male was laughing and giving Benjamin a thumbs up.

Yes.

It got more chaotic as they sent out the seekers to catch the snitch. This time around beaters had to protect their seekers. Benjamin had to remind himself that Eleanor was not on his team, and it was not his job to protect her. Lorcan and Lysander were trying out for beaters for Ravenclaw and they would protect Eleanor just fine, he hoped.

He focused on his seeker. He knew he had to beat out the other beaters and show he was the best. If he didn't make this team, he'd be pissed, and so would Eleanor. He raced and fought off every bludger that flew the seeker's way and got hit quite often by other beaters (mostly Hugh) but he wasn't a wimp and he refused to lose to them. Keepers and chasers were sent up next and it became far too crowded for Ben's liking.

He saw Eleanor dodged a bludger, almost falling off her broom in the process. James were there instantly, holding her broom in place and grinning at her.

"Need a prince charming?" He smirked as Ben high tailed it in their direction.

"More like I need a bat to whack your face in!" She exclaimed with a face red from her embarrassment. "Wonderful timing, Benjamin." She said as the male flew up next to her, bat in his hand.

"Problem here?" He questioned, glaring at James. He lifted his bat a bit, eyebrows raised. "You got over here pretty quick, Potter…were you watching my Eleanor?"

"She's not yours, Youngblood, and no, I wasn't!" James actually looked humiliated at this. "I just happened to be near her. I didn't want her falling to the ground."

"How sweet." He smirked at James, starting to understand why James taunted Eleanor so much and why he hated Ben so much. "But, I'm here, so, carry on." He waved him away and looked to Eleanor, who still seemed flustered. "C'mon Princess, head in the game!" He told her as he turned quickly, defending off a bludger that Hugh had sent towards him. He grinned at Eleanor and flew off back to his seeker, defending her, even if it meant getting hit.

He was used to things hitting him. His younger siblings were far more hyperactive than he was and they tackled him on a daily basis. A whistle was blown after thirty minutes of this and he felt relieved. He knew that the games could go on forever so he needed to work on his endurance, but he was way too worried about making the team this go round and it was stressing him out.

Everyone lowered themselves to the ground and started listening as their captains began talking again.

"We need more work, but everyone did decently." Ben's captain started with a head nod. Ben's hair went pale, slowly turning gray from the black it had been. Darker colors took more effort and energy and he was extremely tired. Just keeping up with how his face looked was difficult right now. "Youngblood." The captain called. "Better focus more on the game than your looks, got it? I don't need you distracted during the games."

Wait a second.

"You surprised me out there, I thought Americans couldn't play." He looked a little annoyed that he was wrong. Slytherins were prideful. "But you're good. I'll let you know the practice schedule soon." He nodded his head and turned to another student. Ben had to resist the urge to hug him or shout, so he just nodded his head and left for the locker room.

Once he put all his equipment away he went outside to see Eleanor standing there, waiting for him. "So? She questioned, eager.

"So what?" He asked, smirking a little. "Did you make the team?"

"Of course I did! I didn't even need to try out. What about you?"

"Welllllllllllllllllllll."

"Benjamin!"

"I made it, stop shoutin." He told her and she hugged him tightly.

"YES! I KNEW YOU COULD DO IT!" He spun her around as she said this.

"Good, someone decent on the team." Scorpius said as he came out of the locker room. Hugh and James came out of the Gryffindor locker room and glared at Ben. "I can't wait until we play them."

"I can't wait to knock Hugh off his broom, again." Ben chuckled as he hugged Eleanor again, making James' face red. "I'm planning to win every game I play in." So Potter was getting jealous again? Hm.

"Except when you play against me." Eleanor pulled away from the hug and winked at him, smirking. "I'm the best player in this school, notice you are second best."

"I'm never second best." Ben told her with a head shake. "But I guess compared to you, I'm fine with second place. You are my princess."

"Damn straight." She nodded her head.

"You both did brilliant!" Alice's light voice chimed as she and Bailey joined them. "Really, you two were great. Tell me you made the team?"

"Sure did." Ben said proudly and Alice hugged him, then Bailey hugged him.

"You two were great." Bailey said excitedly. "Eleanor, you were absolutely amazing. I've never seen someone so fast on a broomstick before!" This made Eleanor beam.

"You'll have to excuse me, Hugh is probably hurt I came straight to you two." She said and patting Ben's cheek affectionately before she hurried off to her boyfriend. Bailey left as well, following Alice.

"They're both really sweet." Eleanor smiled as Ben agreed. "Now, let's get going. You have a potions test you need to study for!" She took his hand and pulled him past the other group.

"Bye Potter." Ben said in a teasing tone, and he swore he saw the smoke coming out of James' ears.

"Now all we have to do is make sure you stay on the team and work on our patronus charm!" Eleanor exclaimed happily. "It's the hardest charm we have to learn this year, you know."


	6. Chapter 6

Benjamin shivered a bit as he entered the Great Hall. He hated these cold October days, but he knew that tomorrow, November's freezing cold days would be upon them. He plopped down at his normal table for lunch, and pulled out his sketch book.

He was so tired from practicing the patronus charm. He had gotten it down, barely, but it was basically a ball of light, just like everyone else's. While it was effective, they all wanted to know what their patronus was.

Eleanor's birthday was in a couple of weeks, and he had no clue what to get her. She loved blue, purple, foxes and Quidditch. He didn't have much time to get her anything too special, if he did he might have made her a knitted fox plush. He began to sketch a fox, trying his best from memory. He was doing pretty decently when Albus sat next to him, which was unusual because he usually sat next to Scorpius.

"What at are you drawing?" He questioned, startling Ben.

"Sorry, I was zoned out. Uh, well, a fox. It's Ellie's favorite, and I'm not quite sure what to get her for her birthday, so I thought I'd draw her a fox and then water color it and kinda…I dunno, it's hard to explain." He told Albus as he continued to draw. "I kinda want the paint to be running and give it that sloppy but mystic look to it, you know? Not everything inside the lines."

"You never like to stay in the lines, do you?" Albus chuckled, watching him. It was calming to watch him draw and now he understood why Rose enjoyed it so much when he drew during lunch time. "James tells me Professor Selwyn watches you real closely."

"She does. Like a damn hawk." He complained with an eye roll. "Everything I do is wrong…but I don't really want detention with her. It blows."

"What does she make you do?" He questioned, looking to Ben now instead of the drawing. Ben glanced at Albus' green eyes and then back to his sketch book.

"Uh…makes you write stuff over and over again." He told him, partially being honest. "Just sucks. So, I'm planning on launching my master prank soon." He changed the subject quickly. "Your brother will not see it coming."

"Tell me how it goes."

* * *

><p>James sat next to Benjamin as they waited for the teacher to set up things in Defense Against the Dark Arts. Ben glanced at him, wondering what he should launch the plan when James turned and glared at him.<p>

"What do you want, Youngblood?" He asked rudely, making Ben just sigh and roll his eyes. The male was on his case ever since he made the Quidditch team. "Trying to pull another prank on me?"

"Is there anyone who is as dramatic as you, Potter? You act like the world is crashing down around you. So what you got called out for being a player and that your hair turned blue for a spell?"

"I am not a player!" He exclaimed and hit Ben with his book. "I know it's you causing all these problems!"

"Eh! Don't hit me, you idiot!" Ben replied, trying to block James' hits. He hit James back, and the book flew out of James' hand and smacked Professor Selwyn in the back. She turned around quickly, shock and annoyance on her face.

"You two both have detention!" She declared.

"Way to go." James grumbled to Ben, who just rolled his eyes once more. His mind went straight for his brilliant plan to trick James. Now would be the perfect time to do it, if the crazy bat lady wasn't going to kill them with her detention.

James sighed as he sat in the empty room with Benjamin. They apologized profusely for the accident, and she decided that they should work out their issues be themselves, and left them in the classroom. He put his head on his desk until he heard a very feminine sigh. He glanced up, jumping back and falling out of his seat when he saw Ellie sitting there.

"Are you alright, Potter?" She questioned, a smirk on her lips.

"W-What?" He questioned, standing and looking for Benjamin. The male wasn't in the room at all, just him and Ellie. She sat on his desk, eyeing him.

"Wow, Potter, you got it bad." She shook her head and started to laugh.

"What's going on?" He put his chair right side up and sat down again, feeling like this might be another prank. Ellie scooted off his desk and put her hand on his shoulder as she walked behind him. Her arms around his neck and she ran her hands down his chest.

"I'm just testing a theory…" She murmured into his ear. She chuckled again when he turned red and froze. "You really do have it bad, don't you?"

"Have w-what bad?" He shivered at how close Ellie was to him.

"You like my dear Eleanor, don't you?"

"My dear Eleanor? Wait..." He turned, seeing Eleanor still standing there. "What the hell!?" James asked him, head swirling as Eleanor slowly turned into Benjamin.

"I've been watching Eleanor since I met her. It was difficult, but can you agree I've got her down perfectly, right?" James couldn't lie, he was fooled by Ben. "And yes, my dear Eleanor. I'm her best friend, and I'm not too excited for you trying to get your grimy hands on her. She is the princess and I am her dragon."

"Do you like her or something?" James questioned, starting to get annoyed.

"Obviously, I love her. Non-romantically, of course." He told James, who was relieved. "But man, it's plain as day you like her."

"Is it really?" His face went red and Benjamin felt pity for him. "I don't mean to be mean to her, it just sorta happens..."

"Gee, you're a little pathetic." Benjamin sat on a desk, eying James. "You need serious help."

"No shit, idiot." James grumbled, crossing his arms. "You aren't going to tell her?"

"Why would I do that? That's no fun for me." Ben smirked playfully. "I want to see how this all unfolds. Look, Potter, I don't want to hate you, and there's truly no reason for you to hate me. I'm not a threat to you at all. I'd be a wonderful ally to have, actually. Eleanor is my best friend." Ben continued, nodding his head. "Then again, I can be a threat, can't I? I can completely ruin your chances with Eleanor in a matter of seconds."

"Urg…the damn sorting hat was right." James groaned, rubbing his face. He was so pissed right now. "How did none of us see it before? You're such a Slytherin."

"I'll take that as a compliment. Now, what if I decide to help you?" Ben questioned. "I'll tell you now, Eleanor is not ready to date anyone at all. It's not one of her interests, especially with O.W.L.S being this year. Next year, maybe, most likely in seventh year though."

"So what do I do?" James questioned, completely lost at this. He acted like a ladies man, but he really liked Eleanor and he was already screwing up his relationship with her.

"Befriend her. You can still taunt her, of course nothing too serious or I'll have to step in, but if you stop teasing her all together, she'll get suspicious. Remember, she is a Ravenclaw. Eleanor is that type of girl who wants to be friends with a guy before she dates him. She has to be comfortable with you before she makes any important decision like that. Also, ease into it, man."

"And why will you help me?" He was suspicious. The Slytherin could be playing a nasty trick, though he really hoped that he wasn't.

"Because, deep, deep, deep down, I know Eleanor likes you too, and you might make her happy." Ben slid off of the desk with ease. "Plus, you could be useful to me as well." James looked at Ben like he was the worst, yet best thing, to happen all week. "Anyway, least you can do is start being nicer to me. She won't like anyone who is mean to her bestie." There was that smirk again.

"I liked you better at the start, when I didn't know how big of a pain in the ass you would be." James groaned, putting his head on the table. This Slytherin was becoming a lot of work.

"Potter, relax, okay?" Benjamin rolled his eyes at the over dramatic James. "We can still be…rivals. We'll just be friendlier. So tell me, buddy, what are you getting her for her birthday?"

"Birthday?"

"Dude, her birthday is the fifteen. You have fourteen days." Ben chuckled as James looked up at him. "Nothing too fancy."

"A fox." James stood up suddenly. "I'll just catch her a fox! I know there are some in the Forbidden Forest!"

"Uh…." Ben shook his head at this, not too fond of the forest. "Dude, it's Forbidden for a reason. No way in hell should we even think about going in there!" He really hated the place. Hagrid told them tons of scary things about it and looking at it make him shiver. "Didn't you hear? Dementors might be lurking in there." This made him shiver. Those things creeped him out and he was terrified of them.

"We won't be nearly that deep in the forest, if they're even there! That's just a silly rumor, Youngblood. C'mon, don't go running off with your tail between your legs now." James was far more confident about this than Benjamin was. "Aren't we best friends now?"

"Hey, I never said that, Potter." He spat, glaring at him with red eyes. "I'm not looking to get myself killed."

"We'll go during the middle of the day. What about next week? You're mostly free on Thursdays and Fridays, right?" He continued much to Ben's dismay. "Quidditch practice is on Saturdays and Sundays and our teams practice at different times, so the weekend won't work…"

"Potter-"

"We could go today." He interrupted Ben who was getting paler every second.

"You can't just give her a fox!" Ben exclaimed, shaking his head. "It's a wild animal, you nimrod. Why don't you write to your parents and get them to buy a fox sweater for her and send it here?"

"What is going on in here?" The professor came back in suddenly, staring at the two in mid argument.

"Sorry, professor, we're arguing over what to get our friend for her birthday." Ben said quickly, hoping to save themselves the trouble or pain of her punishment. "Potter isn't thinking before he acts."

She looked at them before she sighed. "Fine, both of you go." She said. They both hopped up and went to leave. She grabbed the collar of Ben's shirt and pulled him back as James hurried out. "I expect you to behave better, Mr. Youngblood." She muttered, before letting him go. He took off like a rocket, trying to get as far away from her as possible.

"Let's go to the forest." James said once Benjamin reached him.

"No. I have to work on my present to her, Potter, and I have tests and things to study for." He grumbled, brushing past him. Now James followed after him and they argued down the hall, getting odd stares from everyone they past. It wasn't that it was odd for a Gryffindor or Slytherin to argue…it was just, funny how James was pleading with Benjamin, who looked ready to kill him.

"What are you getting for her?" James questioned, starting to worry over the girl's birthday.

"I'm drawing her a picture and painting it." Benjamin told him, trying to get him to leave him alone. "I have to get to the library to look up foxes. I feel like I'm not getting the animal right."

"Then we should go to the Forbidden Forest to find one!" James exclaimed, getting ahead of himself.

"James!" Ben turned now, hair turning black as he glared at the male. "We don't even know the patronus charm to protect ourselves!"

James reared back, startled by his outburst.

"Look, James, we can't just go out there." He sighed, rubbing his face. He hated to yell at people like that, but the male wasn't getting it. "Fine." He agreed, hating himself as James grinned widely.

* * *

><p>"I'm knitting her a hat." Alice said at dinner. Eleanor was getting her food and the Ravenclaws and lone Slytherin were discussing their presents for Eleanor. "It'll have fox ears and a little cute fox face."<p>

"We're getting her books about wizards from around the world." The twins said together, happy with their choice. "How's your drawing coming along?"

"Fine, but, Potter wants to go to the Forbidden Forest. He wants to catch a fox for her, because he's an idiot, but now he has it in his head we need to go so I can see a fox and draw it better?" He rubbed his temples. "So basically a dementor will get us and I'll die."

"But we're learning the charm now?" Alice questioned him. "If you do run into one, which is extremely unlikely, you can fight it off." He shivered, thinking of the ugly creatures and shook his head.

"There's a reason I wasn't placed in Gryffindor. I don't want to do this." He whined, scared. "I'm awful at charms. I can't even get my patronus right…"

"We just started, you'll get the hang of it." Alice patted his back, trying to comfort him. "Let James get out there and try to catch a fox, it'll be out of his system. It's a stupid idea anyway."

"The charm isn't hard. Just think of a happy thought." Lorcan told him with a nod. "Mine is a horse."

"Mine is a Lynx." Lysander said with a smile.

"Of course you two can do it, you two are masters of charms." Benjamin put his head on the table, hair turning red with frustration. "I hope mine is a dragon."

"Maybe it will be?" Alice rubbed his back, soothing him. "It'll be okay though, Benny. I don't know my patronus either. It's exciting to not know, though I hope I can master it soon."

"I can't get mine to work either." Eleanor sat her food down and began munching at it furiously. "That damn professor is no help. We'll have to work on it together." She told the group, nodding her head. "I cannot allow this to be a setback."

"We'll help you." The twins offered and Eleanor thanked them profusely.

"It's just difficult." She mumbled. "Professor Selwyn is just so textbook and I need some hands on, especially with this charm. I hope mine is a fox."

"You are pretty sly and cunning, but not as much as Benjamin here. He might get that patronus." Alice nodded her head. "Who knows? Patronus can change."

"I just want a dragon." Ben whined, making them all sigh.


	7. Chapter 7

**Decided to update this again as sort of a Happily Holidays to you all. Thanks for much for liking this story!**

* * *

><p>It was Thursday as Ben yawned. He had managed to not set anything on fire in potions, mostly because he and James were actually getting along and not fighting. Now though, he had changed into his usual clothes and gotten a snack, so he was in a much better mood than before.<p>

"Benjamin!" Alice called him over from the stone table she was sitting at with Bailey. "Guess what?"

"What?" He asked, setting his bag down and looking at them. They both looked very excited.

"I learned what my patronus is!" She exclaimed.

"No fucking way!" Ben exclaimed, a smile on his face. She nodded her head and told him the story, how Bailey and she were trying for hours, and finally, it happened right when she was about to give up. "So, tell me, what is it?"

"An Arctic Fox!" She told him, smiling widely. "It was so beautiful and wonderful!"

"And mine was a Caribou!" Bailey joined in and Ben patted both of their shoulders.

"Those are bitchin' animals, for real!" He nodded his head, starting to want to see his even more. "They fit you guys so well too. Eleanor and I practiced yesterday. I'm kind of getting the hang of it." Which was sort of the truth. Eleanor almost got it, but it was tricky for her. They both gave up and called it a night and vowed to try again today or tomorrow.

"It's the thought." Alice told him. "I started my thought before I casted it and I tried tons of different memories."

"I think all of mine were bittersweet." Benjamin mumbled. All of his were about his mother. He should probably change the memory.

"Pick a long happy memory. I got to pet my patronus. It was amazing." Bailey smiled. The two continued to talk about their patronus and Benjamin pulled out his sketch book to doodle while they talked. He ended up drawing a caribou after hearing Bailey talk so much, more than she had every talked before. "That's so beautiful!" She exclaimed, looking at his drawing.

"Really?" He questioned, not seeing it. "Keeps my hands busy. Do you want it?" He asked as he ripped it out of the sketch book. She nodded her head eagerly as he handed it to hey. He swore he heard her squeal. She jumped out of her seat and hugged him, causing a little scene. Everyone looked at them as she giggled with the drawing in her hands.

"I love it so much! Thank you!" He hadn't ever see her this happy before. She hugged him again before she sat back down, her face red.

"I've never seen you so happy before." He told her, eyebrows raised. "Guessing you're really liking it here?"

"It's wonderful. I'm looking to actually finish up my schooling here, if my family doesn't mind it and if the school allows it." She told him, surprising him. "I know it's only November, but, I dunno. I just love this whole house system and it's just so nice to be with different people. You understand, right?"

"Yeah..." He nodded his head, thinking about it. He liked this place far more than his other school.

"Mr. Youngblood!" Professor Selywn's voice came up behind him, startling him. "Your ripped jeans are not appropriate. I can see your entire knee." She eyed his legs.

"Uh…sorry…but..." He didn't even know what to say to her. He was going to say more but she said the word he hated most.

"Detention!" Her shrill voice exclaimed and his ears ached. "Come along." She turned around and walked off. Ben gave a look to Alice and Bailey and gathered his things. He hurried after her, knowing what was going to happen. It probably didn't help that his hair was lime green.

She led him to her office, where he sat down again and held the pen tightly. The pain was slower this time, and hurt far more. His hand was shaking after writing the damn sentence, 'I will not stand out', ten times. He wanted to quit but this time he had to write it twenty times.

She sat there at her desk, drinking tea, as he sat in pain. He continued and kept his head down. Once he was done, his hand was shaking even more now and it wasn't disappearing like last time. "I hope you learn from this." She told him as he gathered his things. He left quickly and quietly, not knowing what to tell her.

He hated her, that was for sure. He wouldn't know how to explain this to anyone and he didn't want to have to. If he told Eleanor, she would go after her and would get the same punishment, and he refused to have that happen.

He retreated to the library and hid away in a corner, trying to get his hand to stop shaking. The writing began to disappear, much to his relief. His hand still ached and was shaking, so he stayed hidden away in the library for quite some time. He just read books for class, not being able to write or draw without causing more pain to his hand.

"God…fuck…" Why did she hate him? Was it because he was a halfblood? Because he was a metamphorgus?

"There you are!" James poked his head over and startled Ben, who almost fell out of his chair.

"Potter, what the hell do you want?" He spat out, clutching his right hand. "I'm busy." He didn't want to come off so rude but he couldn't handle the Gryffindor right now. The writing was completely gone and the pain had subsided, but mentally it was still there. He didn't even have a clue how the male had found him.

"Whoa, don't be so crabby." James rolled his eyes and stuff something in his back pocket. "I've looked for you everywhere. C'mon, let's go to the forest."

"No." Ben told him, shaking his head. "I haven't mastered the charm. Have you?" He glanced to the male, who paled a bit. "You haven't, have you?"

"I've done it. Once." He muttered, eager to get to the forest. "We won't go deep into it. C'mon. Grab your bag and let's goooo!" Benjamin looked at him, seeing that stupid smile on his face.

"Fine." He was going to die. He knew it.

* * *

><p>"It's not that bad." James started once they entered the forest. It had taken a while and a lot of professor dodging to get here, but they managed it. Maybe the sorting hat was right? They did make great partners. "Think you could transform into a professor next time to make it easier?"<p>

"Already working on it Potter. I don't do small. Why do you think I get detention so much with McGonagall?" Ben questioned and James smirk got wide. "Yeah, go big or go home."

"This will be great." James bounded into an open space, excited that they made it. Ben sat on a log, pulling out his sketch book. "Now what?"

"This is your plan, Potter." Ben muttered, starting a new page of foxes. He glanced up, spotting something orange. "Don't move." He said as a fox poked its head out of the bushes.

"Fox!" James exclaimed. He ran at it and the fox ran off, running in circles, almost as if it was playing with James, who chased after it.

"The thing is far smarter than you." Ben called, surprised that they had found a fox so quickly and easily. Maybe this was an okay idea? He started his sketch, happy that he had a reference, as the fox teased James, slowing down just enough for James to think he caught it, before it took off again.

The fox grew bored after James fell down, exhausted from the chase. It approached Ben slowly, sniffing him and his bag, before rubbing its face along the sketch book.

"What up?" Be questioned in, letting the animal do whatever it wanted. It seemed young and playful, so he wasn't afraid of it. Too bad Eleanor wasn't here for it. It looked at his drawing, and then back to Ben like it was asking _'Is that me?'_ "Yup, hope you don't mind that I drew ya." Ben replied, even though the fox probably couldn't understand him.

It jumped around Ben, wanting to play. He shook its head as James rose to his feet, dusting himself off. The fox froze suddenly, and took off, disappearing into the mist.

"What was his problem?" James questioned, looking off after it. Ben started to feel extremely cold and he turned around just as the dementor reached him. He screamed and stumbled over himself trying to get away from it, but it was far faster and he felt his soul being sucked out and he froze.

"Ben!" James shouted running at him. He knew the male was scared, but he could've tried to defend himself somehow. Instead he was petrified and not moving.

Ben felt every positive or happy though be drained from his body and all he could think of was his mother and the look in her eyes when she saw him for the first time after his father took her memories of magic away and how sh-

"EXPECTO PATRONUM!" James shouted and pointed his wand at the creature. A coyote howled and launched itself at the creature. Ben felt sick and dazed and had no clue what was going on as James pulled him up, both of their bags around James' neck as he yanked Ben harder.

James had to grab hold of Ben to make sure the male didn't get left behind and James swore he never ran so fast before in his life. They collapsed against a hill, far from the forest. James looked over to Ben, who was shaking. His skin was pale and his hair was a light blonde, a shade he never wore before.

"Ben?" James questioned, putting his hand on the male's shoulder.

"F-Fuck, I told you!" He bellowed, stuttering and still shaking. "T-That was terrifying! I'm never going back in there again."

"What happened to your face?" James questioned, looking at the Slytherin. His nose was smaller and his lips had a more round shape than usual, plus, his cheekbones were more noticeable. His eyes were bright blue too.

"Nothing. Do you think I could keep up my look after that damn thing got me Potter?" He was angry, that was for sure, but he was scared too. "This is how I actually look and thanks to you, I just got to relive the most painful moments in my life. Thanks." He rubbed his face, not really wanting James to see him.

"I'm so sorry man, I just…I didn't expect you to freeze up like that."

"Why wouldn't I? Those are the most terrifying creatures! Maybe not to you, but for me, they are!" He was shouting now, and his hair was starting to turn red, which James supposed was good. It meant he was feeling better. "I don't know what's happened in your fucking life but I have a lot of shitty memories I'd like to forget!"

"I-I am really really sorry. You don't have to go change your face now, you'll wear yourself out!" Growing up with Teddy, he knew a bit about metamorphmagi. He knew if Ben tried to change himself after this, it might exhaust him and cause him to pass out.

"I can do what I damn well please, Potter. I know what my limits are!" He was still angry and his face was starting to change back to what it usually was. "I've been through far worse and been able to change!"

"But this is different." James argued, and dug through his bag. "Here, eat this chocolate." He handed him a piece and the male bit into it, chewing slowly. "It's supposed to make you feel better….Look man, we're best friends forever now. That was some deep stuff we just went through so now we've reached that level of friendship."

"I didn't sign up for this. Becoming your friend was an awful idea. I've almost died and we've been friends for barely a week!" Ben glared, ready to attack him.

"But it was an adventure….." James trailed off and Ben stood, ready to leave. "C'mon, man….I just….I am really sorry. I guess you'll be pissed to know that's the first time I did that charm."

"What?" Ben said through gritted teeth, feeling a little better now that he was in his usual form and had the chocolate in his system.

"I couldn't do it for shit, but, seeing you like that, I dunno, it just hit me and I thought of how much fun we were having before and bam! A coyote was attacking that creature!" James stood and was waving his hands as he told the story. "And I was so ready, I could do it over and over again!"

Ben was quiet for a minute and took many, many deep breathes, before he sighed. "I'm going to find Eleanor." He started up and the hill with his bag and James raced after him, his bag slamming against his side as he ran. "Potter, you owe me for this. Next time we do something stupid like this, and I'm sure we will, you can't get mad at me if it's my idea."

James' face broke out into a smile when he saw the smirk on Ben's face.

* * *

><p>"I've been looking for you all day." Eleanor said as Ben and James finally made it to one of the courtyards. Eleanor got up from her spot on the grass and rushed over to them, glancing at James before looking at Ben. "Ben, are you okay?" She questioned, looking up at him with a questioning look. "I thought we were going to try and get that charm down today?"<p>

"It was a long….long day." He grumbled, feeling light headed again.

"Then let's just do it tomorrow. C'mon, come sit with me. James didn't drag you into any dangerous stunts now, did he?" She questioned, pulling his hand. He gave James a look, who looked back.

"No, nothing like that." He told Eleanor as James chuckled, following them.

"Good!" Eleanor pulled him down to her spot and he laid his head on her shoulder, worn out. James plopped down on the other side of Eleanor. "You really that tired?" She questioned, glancing at him. "James must've worn you out. What were you two doing?" She asked this to the both of them.

"You make it sound so dirty." James grumbled, embarrassed.

"You embarrassed of me, James?" Ben teased, smirking as James started to stumble over his words. "Just kidding Ellie, we did nothing dirty. We saw a cute fox though, want to see the picture I drew of it?" He dug in his bag and handed the sketch book over to her as he closed his eyes. "There's a picture I did of James chasing it. He was so stupid looking."

"I wish I had been there for that! Wait, where did you two see a fox?" She asked, glancing at the both of them.

"Nowhere." They said at the same time, and she sighed.


	8. Chapter 8

**I'm so glad you guys like this story! I know you want some BenxAlbus but this story is going from Ben's fifth year and to his seventh (and maybe a lil beyond) so just keep that in mind!**

* * *

><p>It was Saturday and Ben wanted to do nothing all day, but Slytherin practice was first thing in the morning, which was way he was here, in the air, on his broomstick, hitting things with a bat.<p>

It was actually therapeutic for him to get out all his frustration like this. Being up in the air made him feel so free, and slamming a bludger with a bat got out all his stress. He was a bit disappointed when practice was over but a little happy since his hand was starting to cramp up.

"I'm going to bathe than go back to bed. I slept horribly last night." Scorpius told Ben as they put their equipment up in the locker room.

"I wish I could. Ravenclaw's practice is right after ours, so I gotta stay and watch Ellie's." He yawned, almost running into the team's seeker on his way out of the room.

"Have fun. Just sleep in the stands." Scorpius joked as they parted ways. Ben started the climb up into the stands where Alice and Bailey were. He trotted over to them and plopped down with a sigh.

"So tireddddddd!" He whined to them, hair dark orange.

"You look like a Weasley." Alice joked and he turned his hair brown. "What a mundane color."

"Alice you need a chill button." He told her, stretching and cracking his back. "Did you not see me own the skies up there? I'm so worn out."

"Then take a nap." She told him while Bailey laughed a bit. He pouted and put his head in Alice's lap when he laid down.

"Just remember you told me to take a nap and your lap is comfortable as hell…damn this is greatttttt." He sighed as Alice shook her head. He buried his face against her bronze colored sweater and closed his eyes.

Alice was perfectly fine with this. Benjamin was a lovely friend to have and acted more like a boyfriend than her actual boyfriend did. He was a treat to have both at breakfast and at dinner, and was a good pick me up when she was stressed about exams.

"He's so much work, goodness." Alice chuckled, running her fingers through his hair in a soothing manner. "Was he like this back in America?"

"I actually didn't get to talk to him much. Actually…no one really talked to him that much." She told Alice, looking at Benjamin, who was fast asleep. "He had a few friends, but not like he has here. He was friendly but I just don't think he really connected with anyone. People treat metamorphmagi differently here. You guys are far more accepting and kind. It's not like people out right bullied him, but, it did cause him to be the odd one out, he never seemed to mind at all though."

"Really?" Alice asked, looking down at Ben. His arms were wrapped around her waist and his body was warm.

"Yes. That's why I like it here so much better. Just more diverse people and I get to be in a house of people who are like me in many ways. It's just more accepting." She nodded her head and smiled at Ben, who mumbled something but stayed asleep. "I hope he decides to finish his schooling here. I know it's hard being so far from his family, but, it's not like we really get to see family at our school either. Christmas might be odd without them though."

"You don't get to go home for Christmas" Alice questioned, feeling a little bad for all the exchange students.

"No, not at all. We can call them and write to them, but no going home. It'll be hard to not spend the next three Christmases with my family, but, I like it here so much better, so I'm willing to sacrifice it." She continued as they both looked to the field to watch the team practice. "I'm not too sure if Ben will do the same. His siblings are the world to him."

"He talks about them sometimes." Alice said as she saw Lorcan hit a bludger. "Especially about Clara."

"Oh, Clara is such a jewel. She's the sweetest little girl I've ever met." Bailey beamed. "He spoils her rotten. I came over once to drop something off for my mother and I got to meet her."

"It'll be hard for him to not be there during Christmas." Alice mumbled, looking at him. She was a little disappointed. She didn't want Ben to leave at the end of the school year and not come back for their sixth year.

They went quiet for the rest of the practice as Alice continued to run her fingers through his hair.

* * *

><p>"We're going to do this." Eleanor said as she and Ben stood in the grassy court yard. "I've got to get this charm right. Maybe my memories aren't happy enough?"<p>

"That's what my problem is, I think..." Ben mumbled, nodding his head. "I'm going to try to think of living with my grandma all those years. I would read books on dragons and she'd make them come to life and fly around the room. They were tiny and made of paper, but it always made me happy."

"That's sweet. I think I know my memory." She nodded her head and took a deep breath. Ben watched her closely and she gracefully waved her wand, saying the spell confidently. A bright light appeared and swan swirled around her feet, making her jaw drop. "A swan? Oh my god Ben, look, it's beautiful!" She exclaimed and it disappeared. "I did it...! I DID IT!" She screamed, jumping up and down. "I knew I could do it!"

"Swan fits you so well too!" Ben said, excited for her. "You did it so well, like, damn…"

"It was the memory." She nodded her head, face flushed. "That was why I couldn't get it before. It wasn't happy enough. Now you try!" She pushed him to her spot and watched eagerly.

"You're makin' me nervous, princess." He muttered as he pointed his wand. He thought of his grandma and how much fun they had.

"Ben." Eleanor mumbled, looking at the male who had his eyes closed. "You're going to miss your patronus if you do that."

"What?" His eyes snapped open and he stared at the leopard that was standing there, looking at him like he was an idiot. "It's working, and I'm doing it…" He muttered and the feline growled and disappeared. He just looked at Eleanor. "Did you see that?"

"A leopard? Yes, I saw it." She smirked. Ben ran at her and hugged her tightly. Both starting laughing, so excited about this. "The memory was the only problem! I can't believe how easy it was!"

"That was fucking amazing!" He exclaimed, eyes bright. "I'm a little upset it wasn't a dragon but leopards are so badass. It just came so easily."

"This is what happens when we practice and study." Eleanor told him and he rolled his eyes.

"This would've helped in the Forest a few days ago." He muttered and Eleanor's eyes narrowed.

"What do you mean?" She asked. "Look, I knew you guys went to the forest, but why would you need this charm?" She eyed him as Ben looked away. "Benjamin Grant Youngblood!" Her voice was now high pitched and he could tell she was angry. "What happened in the forest?!"

"A slight…run in with a dementor." He grumbled out, feeling bad that he hadn't told her. Her face went pale and she grabbed his arms.

"What happened? Did it get you? How did you get away?!" She demanded answers immediately. She brushed her auburn hair back behind her ear as her foot tapped against the grass.

"Yeah, it did get me, but James got it before it did any real damage." He rubbed his arm, not wanting to remember it. "It won't happen again, okay? I'm totally fine though."

"Benjamin, you could've been left in a horrible state!" Eleanor exclaimed, worried about her best friend.

"I could've, but I'm fine." He tried to act like it wasn't a big deal, even though he knew it was. "Eleanor, please, I'm okay. I'm sorry I didn't tell you." He put his hands on her shoulders, trying to get her to calm down. She sighed and looked at him, biting her lip. "It'll take more than that to take me outta the game." He smiled at her and she glared, but lightened up and elbowed him.

"Just be careful." She said as she went to get her bag. "Let's go have some lunch. Mom wrote to me to tell me she was sending hats and scarves for us..."

Lunch on the weekend was nice, because Benjamin got to sit with them. He enjoyed sitting with the Silver Trio, what he liked to call Rose, Albus, and Scorpius, but he liked to sit with Alice and Eleanor, plus the twins and now Bailey, more.

Eleanor received her package and unwrapped it, handing over a black beanie and a green scarf to Ben.

"Dude, this is sweet." He grinned and pulled the beanie on. It was soft and warm and fit him perfectly. "I didn't know your mom knitted…?"

"She bought this. My mom cannot do activities like that." Eleanor rolled her eyes as she looked at her blue and bronze scarf and beanie. "Why did you get a black beanie?"

"My hair is always changing, but black matches everything." He grinned, hair turning green to match his scarf. Alice chuckled at this, smiling widely.

"You look adorable, Benny."

"All the ladies will want me." He joked, laughing at himself. "Or they'll stay away, either works with me." He shrugged and took a bit of his food. "You look good in your scarf, Ellie."

"These colors are good on me." She said, fluffing her scarf a bit before she took it off, along with the beanie, and put it in her bag. "I'm glad she sent us these things. Snow will be here next week. By the way, did we tell you?" Eleanor grinned at her friends, excited. "We finally got the charm down. My patronus is a beautiful swan!"

"She's got the temper to match it too." Ben mumbled and was elbowed by her.

"That's so perfect for you." Alice told her with a warm smile.

"Oh yes, very beautiful and graceful!" Bailey nodded her head and then looked to Ben. "Please tell me yours is a dragon? I know you've always liked them."

"Don't get him started." Lorcan muttered with raised eyebrows.

"Mine's a leopard!" Everyone went silent as he said this. They looked at each other, before looking back to him.

"Don't they hide in trees and tall grass and wait for their pray?" Lysander questioned.

"Leopards are self-assertive, independent, and can come off imitating." Loran said and everyone looked to Ben, who just looked back, confused. "Also extremely secretive. You have any secrets you're hiding there?"

"W-What?" Ben questioned, shaking his head. "You guys are supposed to be excited. I can't help my patronus. I think it's really bad ass." He mumbled, sighing. "Leopards are really amazing creatures. People tend to forget about them for the other large cats of the savannah, like cheetahs or lions."

"I like it." Alice was the first to say, making Ben smile. "It's fitting. You can be imitating and self-assertive. I'm happy you two finally got it down. Was it all in the memory?" She asked and Ben nodded his head. "I'm glad we all got the problem worked out. Now we'll be able to pass our exams."

"Not unless that professor starts teaching." Eleanor grumbled, and they all knew who she was talking about.

Professor Selwyn was a thorn in everyone's side. She went by the textbook and it was causing many students to fall behind. You really needed hands on, especially when it game to working spells and charms, but she did none of that. She read from the book and expected students to figure things out on their own. She was also a stick in the mud and followed the rules too closely, which Ben already knew.

"Mr. Youngblood." They all jumped when her voice came from behind them. "Hats are not worn inside."

"Sorry!" He exclaimed and yanked it off his head, forgetting about his blue hair.

"Mr. Youngblood, I've told you multiple times about your hair color." She started and he felt a pang of annoyance. He knew he should just say sorry and turn his hair to a normal color, but he didn't come here to be controlled like that. He came to get away from that. "Do try and keep it normal." With that, she was walking off, her heels clicking against the stone floor.

"She hates you." James muttered as he walked by. "She always has it out for you."

"Yeah, I know." He muttered, rubbing his right hand. He glared at her, wishing he could do something. "I'd pull a lovely prank on her, but who knows what she'll do? She'll probably kick me out and send me packing to America."

"No pranks on her!" Eleanor told him, eyes wide. "You can't get sent back to America!"

"I won't until it's time for me to go in May." He told her, patting her head.


	9. Chapter 9

**I have face characters for all of these guys. Seriously.**

**Sam Claflin is Ben, mostly when he's Finnick but really anytime, minus the curly hair. I'm sure you all know this one because he's the picture for this story.**

**Eleanor is Astrid Berge Frisbey. My friend picked her and she's really pretty.**

**Kiernan Shipka is for Bailey because she is seriously beautiful. **

**I think Lily Collins is a really good Alice, but really canon characters are up to you. Though Logan Lerman is the perfect Albus and you will never convince me other wise.**

**Thank you so much for the reviews and favs and follows! I was very nervous about posting this story because I know there's tons of Harry Potter fanfiction and I hoped my plot and characters weren't over done.**

* * *

><p>The first Quidditch game of the season was Ravenclaw V.S. Hufflepuff.<p>

Watching Eleanor play made Benjamin too nervous to really enjoy it. He didn't partially like how he wasn't there to protect her, and yeah, he was a bit overprotective, but he couldn't help it. The girl was his best friend, one of the only people he really connected well with. He tried to relax, because Lysander and Lorcan were the beaters and wouldn't let anything hurt her.

"Quidditch isn't my favorite thing to watch." Albus admitted after an hour of watching the game. Ben glanced to him and Albus looked back. "What? Is that odd?"

"No. I agree. Which is sad, since I'm on the team, but, it's kind of boring. The game could last forever…" He grumbled, keeping track of Eleanor easily. "It's entertaining, at times, but, I dunno…"

"Same. I just could never really get super into it. I do enjoy it sometimes though…mostly when it's Slytherin against Gryffindor." Albus shrugged his shoulders. "You play next Saturday, don't you?"

"Yeah, and that game won't be lasting long. I'll knock out every Gryffindor I can." He grinned as Ravenclaw scored. "I'm a pretty rough beater."

"I've seen during practice. You're a lot rougher than I thought." Albus admitted, all attention now on the pink haired male. Ben seemed like a gentle guy, but he was rough and would knock you out in a second, especially when it came to Eleanor, and even Alice now.

"Younger siblings make you rough. You know what it's like, having a big family, right?" He questioned and Albus nodded as he heard his Gryffindor cousins in the next stand over screaming their lungs out.

"COME ON!" Rose screamed from beside Albus, making both males laugh. "Don't laugh at me!" She told them, eyebrows furrowed. "Benjamin, you need to root for your girl!"

"My girl?" He questioned, glancing to the field. "Eleanor is no one's 'girl'. My princess, maybe, but like I've told you before, I'm not and will not ever be romantically involved with that girl. She's a storm with skin I tell ya." He grumbled as she flew by like a blur. "Plus, I told her if she ends the game quickly I'd take her to Three Broomsticks tomorrow and she can get whatever she wants, especially since her birthday is tomorrow."

"Hmp, you two act like a couple." Rose mumbled.

"I'm pretty sure I just act like a dog and follow her around." He glanced to Albus for some support. "Especially since your brother is the one who likes her." He turned to watch the game once more as he said this. "The boy babbles like a stream about her. Kind of sweet and endearing, actually. Felt a little bad for him so I decided to help him."

"That's why you and he are buddy-buddy now?" Scorpius questioned, now interested. "We were all wondering about that."

"The plan to trick him went well, until I started to feel pity for him. Ya know, being a Gryffindor, he's pretty scared of his feelings." He watched as Eleanor almost grabbed the snitch, but it slipped away. "Anyway, thought I'd help him, since Eleanor likes him, deep deep…deep down. Might be another year or two though."

"You sound like a Slytherin now." Rose mumbled, eyeing him. "Does this mean you're coming back next year!?"

"Don't get too excited. It depends on the rest of the school year and my family." He told her, happy she was so excited for him to come back next year. "I'm sure it will be fine, as long as I'm home for the summer to take care of the kids. My brother can barely help them now. He's horrible with kids."

"That's sad seeing as you have so many siblings." Rose continued.

"I'm his only whole sibling and he's about five years older than me, so he's much older than them." He explained, drumming his fingers on his legs. "I dunno, it's kinda like you and your cousins. You get along with those that are your age. God, there's so many of ya too."

"There's always been and will probably always be many of us." Rose smiled, pulling her gloves on to warm her frozen fingers. "But yeah, I can get what you're saying."

"Everyone talks about to Weasley/Potters. Seems you're pretty popular." He shrugged as he glanced at them. "Well, not in the Slytherin house, but I'll take a guess and say it's because many of their parents or grandparents were death eaters or that their parents or grandparents were hated on for being in Slytherin and all of your parents were saviors of the Wizarding world." He said and Scorpius glanced to them, agreeing with Benjamin. "So you're popular by your parents, basically."

Rose and Albus gave him and look, and he shrugged once more.

"Just because I'm from America doesn't mean I don't know what happened. It was worldwide, ya know?" He stood and stretched. "Besides, I don't judge you based on your parents. That shows me nothing about your character. You and your cousins and siblings didn't save the world, your parents did. I won't give you credit or special treatment because of that. I doubt you two would try for it, you're pretty level headed; sometimes." He smirked and pulled his black beanie out of his pocket. "Now I gotta bounce. Eleanor is about to win and I've got to be down by the locker rooms." He told them and walked off, quickly going down the stairs.

"B-"Rose started but was cut off by the announcer.

"AMAZING! RAVENCLAW HAS WON THE GAME! ELEANOR WOOD CAUGHT THE SNITCH!"

"How did he know?" Scorpius questioned, looking at his friends. "You know, I think that's the most he's ever spoken to us…that wasn't about dragons."

* * *

><p>"It's my birthday!" Eleanor exclaimed to Benjamin when she met him in the hallway the next day.<p>

"Really now? Are you sure?" He questioned, making the auburn haired girl pout. He gave her a cheeky grin and put his arm around her shoulder, pulling her against him as they walked to the Great Hall. "My silly Eleanor, of course I know it's your birthday, princess."

"Then start spoiling me rotten!" She exclaimed and put her arm around his waist, snug in his side. She smiled up at him and he rolled his eyes at her, but kept his arm around her.

"I always spoil you, don't I?" He questioned as they entered the Great Hall, laughing. A few students looked at them, but they went straight for their table, laughing the whole time. "Princess here thinks I don't spoil her enough."

"You have a loyal dragon at your beckoning call." Lorcan smiled as he pushed a wrapped box towards her.

"Oh yay!" She exclaimed, ripping into the paper and aweing at the books that were inside. "Oh my god, you two!" She picked up a book and flipped through it, then looked to the twins, who were smiling. "I've been dying to get these books!"

"We know." Lysander said with a nod. "So we got them for you."

"Thank you so much." She told them with a warm and grateful smile. "I really love them. I cannot wait to read them tonight. Gosh, and they're hard back..." She rubbed them and smelled them.

Benjamin rolled his eyes and rested his chin on his hand, watching her geek over the books. He was really lucky he got paired with the Wood family.

"I hope it fits. This is from Bailey and me. She drew out the pattern and helped with those button eyes." Alice said as she handed over her gift in a small pink bag. Eleanor almost screamed when she pulled out the fox beanie.

"OH. OH MY GOD." She took deep breathes as she pulled it over her head. Alice was almost tackled to the floor as Eleanor hugged her tightly. "Thank you thank you thank you!" She reached for Bailey and hugged her tightly too, squealing. Her wavy hair puffed out from the sides of the beanie and she looked so cheerful and adorable. "We're still going to the Three Broomsticks, right?" She asked, looking to Ben.

"Gee, not like I could say no to that adorable face." Ben grinned and patted her head. "Ellie, I promised it, and I keep promises. We'll go whenever you wanna go."

"Good!" Eleanor turned back to eat her breakfast, excited for the day.

* * *

><p>"So, where's my present?" Eleanor questioned as they walked towards the Ravenclaw Common room. Benjamin was going to wait in the hallway while she dropped off her presents from the twins and rejoin him.<p>

"So impatient." He mumbled, reaching into his inside jacket pocket and pulling out a rolled up paper. "It's not a beanie but…" He handed it to her and she unrolled it, looking at the water colored fox with purple and blue splattered around it.

"Oh…Ben…." She awahed, staring at it. "It's so beautiful." She stared at it for another thirty seconds before Ben shifted uncomfortably, feeling a bit nervous. "I really love it!"

"Thanks. I hoped you'd like it."

"I love it! You're so talented, really. I'm surprised you're not cockier about drawing." She smirked at him. "I'll be right back!" She hurried off to her room to drop her presents off. Ben leaned against the wall, yawning as he waited.

"Uh, hey Ben." James approached him nervously with a box in his hands. "Where's Ellie?"

"We aren't always together." Ben said, but James just gave him a look. "She's up in her room dropping off her presents. Is that for her?" He glanced at the box.

"It's from Albus and me." He told him, nodding his head. "I was going to give it to her at breakfast but…..I thought it'd be weird for me to just kinda drop in and give this to her."

"It is from you and Albus, so it'll take pressure off of you." Ben shrugged. "Potter, I've never seen you so nervous before. Aren't you supposed to be more courageous?"

"I am brave, but it's Eleanor. I feel a little awkward." He admitted, glancing at the ground before looking at Ben. "She makes me uncomfortable."

"Please don't tell her that." Ben told him as he shot him a look. "Why don't you come with us to the Three Broomsticks? You gotta talk to her somehow. Just…just be yourself, okay? Like gee, didn't your parents talk to you about this?"

"Obviously you didn't know how my grandparents' relationship went for most of their schooling years." James muttered, brushing his bangs out of his face. The two males looked at each other before Eleanor bounded down the stairs and looked at them. "Oh, hey, uh, this is from Albus and me." James spoke first, handing her the box.

She glanced down at the box before opening it. She took a sharp intake of breath, trying to hide her excitement as she pulled out a blue sweater with a fox on it. She unzipped her coat and handed it to Ben before she pulled the sweater on, rubbing her hands on it. "Thank you. I love it." She said slowly to James. She grabbed her coat and put it back on and threw the box away in a nearby trashcan. It was obvious she was trying to hold back how excited she was about the present.

"So…Ellie…James is coming with us to the Three Broomsticks." Ben started, taken back by her silence.

"That's fine, only this time, Potter, got it?" She grew animated again and pointed her finger at him. "Only because you brought me a wonderful gift. I'll expect you to be on your best behavior today!"

"Sure." James said, looking relieved that she actually started to act like herself. He glanced to Ben, who give him a head nod.

"Alice and the others are waiting, so let's go." Ben led them, sighing at the two.

* * *

><p>"This butterbeer shit is good." Ben said after taking a sip.<p>

He, Loran, Lysander, Alice, Bailey, James, and Eleanor were all sitting at a round table near the fireplace at the Three Broomsticks. Ben was surprised at the taste of the drink and actually enjoyed it more than he thought. He ended up with a foam mustache after finishing his drink and Alice laughed loudly at him and freaked out when Ben grabbed her and snuggled her neck, getting the foam all over her neck.

"No wonder Hugh hates you." James smirked as Alice pouted, wiping the foam off of her neck. "I would kill you if you do that to me."

"You're my target next." Ben said and winked at James. "A lot of people hate me, which is surprising, I think….." He trailed off, thinking about it. "He shouldn't hate me just because his girlfriend likes me better. Come on, who could blame her? I'm adorable."

"Oh just the cutest." Alice said sarcastically, getting all of the foam off of her neck. "Hugh needs to tone it down or he'll be single soon. He's so stubborn."

"Boys are all stubborn." Eleanor said with a confident look. Everyone looked at her in disbelief.

"Princess, I love you, but you are the most stubborn person I have ever met….and I'm me." Ben said as another butterbeer was placed in front of him. "Have you seen you when you do anything related to Quidditch?"

"That's different. Quidditch is my life!" She exclaimed, getting riled up again. "Besides, it's my birthday, so, let's talk about Quidditch."

"Nooooooo." Everyone except James said. James looked pretty eager to discuss Quidditch and wasn't going to oppose it at all. He had been pretty polite throughout the whole hang out time.

"Potter is the only one with good tastes right now. I'm disappointed." Eleanor crossed her arms and huffed at her friends.

"Disappointment does nothing to me." Ben told her, chuckling as he took another sip. "You look like my brother. He huffs up and crosses his arms when I piss him off. Maybe that's why we hit it off so well?"

"Don't tell me I remind you of a man!" Her voice got into a high pitch as she exclaimed this, cheeks red. "Benjamin, you are not smooth at all. None of you boys are. This is worrying, isn't it? How will they get girlfriends? Or boyfriends?"

"I think we'll be okay." Loran said with raised eyebrows. "I'm not sure if I want relationship advice from any of you lot."

"I agree. None of you seem like love experts to me." Lysander laughed after saying this.

"Gals and gents love me. I can be anything they want me to be." Ben shrugged, feeling confident in himself. "You don't know my romantic past."

"Oh, shush, Benjamin." Bailey said and wrinkled her nose at him. "You never had a girlfriend back home. You were too into your own world to care about other people. Have you ever actually had a crush before? Wait, what are you?"

"I'm me." Ben replied like the smartass he was. He received a kick from Eleanor and winced. "Well my world was far more entertaining than the people in my classes who were more interested in trying to do advanced love potions and cheating spells." He propped his chin with his hand and closed his eyes for a second. "Ah lemme seeeeeeeeeeeee….." He opened his eyes after a few seconds and they were purple. "No, don't think I have liked anyone that seriously. Found a few attractive but not that interested to pursue them. What do you mean what am I? Isn't today the day we just talk about Eleanor?"

"No, I like to interrogate you guys and find out everything I can." Eleanor told him with a smile. "She means what's your sexuality?"

He made a face as everyone looked at him.

"Honestly I was wondering the same thing." Lysander admitted. "I wondered if gender was different for metamorphmagi since you can morph into anyone."

"Gender is the same." Ben told him with a head nod. "I guess I'mmmmmmmmm, I dunno actually. Does it matter? I think I'm just…" He shrugged, trying to figure out how to describe it.

"So you're pansexual?" Bailey questioned. "Means you really don't care about the gender, it's more the personality you care about."

"There we go! Ten points to Ravenclaw for that." He joked, winking at Bailey for helping him out. "No wonder I never dated someone back home, all their personalities were shit." He laughed and drank more of his drink, his hair turning pink. "What about you, Potter, and that Hufflepuff girl?"

"That was an awful prank, you know." James' face went red and Alice laughed at him.

"My father thought it was funny. Said he told your father about it, made him laugh." Alice told James with a bright smile. James glared at her with promise of a prank coming her way, though he would never do it. He and Alice had been friends since they could remember and he couldn't pull a prank on her. She'd get him back far worse if he did.

The group jumped into a discussion about each other's parents, except for Bailey and Benjamin. The two Americans exchanged looks as their friends went on about their parents.

"Glad our parents don't know their parents." Bailey mumbled to Ben and the two laughed quietly. "They've all known each other since birth, isn't that insane? Makes me feel kind of weird."

"Weird? Means we're special. We got into the group." He told her, making her feel better. "Everyone knows their parents, which I find super trippy. I would hate that. I like to keep my personal things private."

"So do I. I don't want my personal life out on display for everyone to see." Bailey agreed with him as she glanced at her friends. "I like coming to a new place where no one knows me. I can be whoever I want to be."

"I get you. No one knows who you are or your family, unlike back home." Ben loved that about Hogwarts. No one knew about his personal life. "It's refreshing."

* * *

><p>"It's so cold." Ben complained as they made their way back to the school. He was huddled under his green scarf, standing out against the white landscape around them. He shivered as snow hit him in the face.<p>

"It's always somewhat cold here." James told him, walking beside Benjamin. The twins were behind them and the girls were in front of them. "But it is winter, you know."

"Really, Potter, is it? I had no clue." Ben said, dripping with sarcasm. "What would I do without you, Potter? Live a happy and carefree life? Without the chance of dying?"

"That was one time." James told him and pulled his own scarf closer to his face. "You're living a happy and carefree life with me. We've bonded. We're friends now. You're my Slytherin brethren."

"Is his father like this?" Ben asked the others, who turned to glance at the two males.

"I have to say, from the stories, he's much more like his grandfather." Lorcan spoke up as a gust of wind hit them with more snow. "Gee…"

"I wanna be in my common room next to the fire." Ben whined and James laughed at him. "Why are you laughing, Potter? I'll be cuddled up with your brother."

James' face got red and he punched Ben's arm. "Stay away from Albus!"

"But, we're friends now, James, we've bonded!" Ben laughed and was hit again by James. "Relax, I won't mess with Al. I just enjoy seeing your face all red. Al is always busy or doing whatever he does. I never really bother to ask, I'm sure he won't tell me anyway. He doesn't talk much compared to you."

"That's Al for you." Alice said with a nod. "Lily and James are the outgoing ones of the Potter trio."

"I like him though. He's funny." Ben felt James glare at him once more. "Oh, James, come on, lighten up. It's not like I'm trying to get in his pants."

"If he did, we would all know." Eleanor told James, trying to reassure him. "I dunno, Ben and Al could be cute together."

"It was a jokeeeeeee!" Ben exclaimed, not wanting to start anything. "I am not interested nor do I want to be interested in anyone at this school. You guys take stuff too seriously."

"Then don't imply things about my brother." James told him, crossing his arms.

"James I'm about to punch you in the throat." Ben muttered, cracking his knuckles.


	10. Chapter 10

**Thank you so much for reviewing and following and favoriting! Happy to know you guys like my Benny because he's one of my favorite characters I made. He's so fucking cute.**

* * *

><p>Benjamin stretched out on a black couch in the Slytherin common room. It was smooth black velvet and the cushions were so soft, he felt like he was going to fall asleep. He yawned and flipped a page in his book, eyes glancing over the words.<p>

He was doing fine in all his classes. He was passing and that's all that matter. He probably should have been getting to bed, but he was a bit of a night owl. He saw the squid swim around and watched it for a while, giving up on reading for his class.

"Hey, you awake?" Rose questioned, stepping down the stairs quietly. She thought she heard someone down in the common room. She couldn't sleep, so she usually walked around for a bit.

"As always. What are you doing up my dear Rose?" Ben questioned, sitting up more and giving Rose room to sit on the couch.

"How come you call every girl, 'my dear' before their name?" Rose questioned right off the bat. "You seem so flirtatious but you don't mean it in that way, right? If you do, you flirt with a lot of girls. You don't seem like you mean it, unless you like to flirt with Alice, Bailey, Eleanor, and even James sometimes."

"I do not flirt with James." Ben stopped her there, shaking his head. "That's arguing. I don't flirt with anyone, I just like to call my friends that are female that. Do you not like it?"

"It's fine, I sort of like the 'my dear' but I know Hugh doesn't. That's why he beat you up so much in the game with Gryffindor a few weeks ago." Rose started up and Ben remembered the game. They had won, barely, but he had been beaten up real bad with bludgers. Hugh aimed for him every chance he got, but Ben protected his seeker. He still had bruises over his body. "Hugh doesn't like how to behave around Alice. He complains about it to James, who tells us. I don't blame him since you are so touchy feely with her but Hugh doesn't have a right to treat you like that. He's being too harsh and it could've seriously hurt you. Eleanor would have totally hurt him though, so I guess you weren't worried. But still, you aren't making it easy for yourself."

"Rose, I never make things easy. Hugh hates me no matter what, so I'm not going to stress. It's late. Shouldn't you go to bed? The train leaves early tomorrow."

It was already December, the end of December, and they were heading home for the Holidays. Ben was heading for Eleanor's home, but, that was home enough for him. The past month was a blur and he loved every second of it.

"I'm already packed and ready to go home. Why, do you not like my company? Are you hiding anything?"

"Rose, you have the ability to make me spill the beans on everything. You know that?" He sat up all the way now and looked at Rose, who had her hair up in a messy bun with strands of curly red hair poking out everywhere. "What more do you want me to say?"

"I like to know everything." She smirked at him. "Why don't you tell me more about yourself?"

"I'm pretty boring, you seem more interesting." Ben told her and stood, grabbing his book. "But it's late and we've got a train to catch tomorrow, so let's go to bed."

* * *

><p>"Benny." Eleanor mumbled as Ben and she watched tv.<p>

Christmas break had been unexciting. Her parents were working up until Christmas and her siblings weren't due in town until the day before Christmas.

"What?" He yawned, slipping in and out of sleep. "Don't tell me your siblings are here. God they hate me." He complained, stretching. Her siblings didn't know what house Benjamin was placed in and he wasn't sure he wanted them to find out.

"They'll be here tomorrow. Let's go for a walk." She jumped up and pulled him up. He whined, because god, it was so cold outside, but she grabbed her coat and socks and shoes and scarf and hat and was ready to go out. Ben groaned again but got dressed in warm clothes. He was pulled outside into the snow and Eleanor skipped through it while Ben could see her breath.

He took a deep breath and blew. It came out like smoke and he grinned, enjoying how it made him look a little like a dragon. Eleanor waited for him to catch up to her and she clung onto his arm, happy in his warmth. "So, my princess, why are we out here?" He asked and she kept looking forward.

"I was sick of sitting in there. I needed a break from studying." She told him and leaned into him. "Plus the terrible duo is coming tomorrow."

"I'll be on my best behavior." He told her. He really disliked her siblings. Caleb was all into Quidditch and was a Gryffindor. He loved James Potter and spoke highly of him being the next big thing from Hogwarts. Amelia, a Ravenclaw like Eleanor, walked around like she had a stick up her ass all the time just because she worked for the Ministry of Magic. Amelia was boring to Benjamin and out of the three, Benjamin adored Eleanor the most, which was unsurprising. He disliked the other two right away.

They didn't seemed to like him either, finding him annoying, especially since he defended Eleanor and glared at them if they dared to tease her. He had siblings, he understood sibling love and arguing that was bound to happen, but, a sister that is twelve years older than her little sister shouldn't be acting like a child.

"I'm glad you're here this holiday season." She told him. "I know you're missing your family, but it's just really nice to have someone on my side."

"I'll try my hardest to always be on your side." He pulled her closer, feeling a little bad for her. Her parents adored her, but she was sort of an accident. Her mother had put her career on hold for the first two kids and was ready to get back out there when she found out about Eleanor.

"I just want cool things to talk about, you know?" She questioned, mumbling a bit. She kicked some snow and sighed. "School just isn't interesting to Amelia and Caleb anymore and they'll talk over me. They have 'real' lives." She just looked irritated. "My life isn't real."

"Well…it is to me." Ben told her, looking at her. "Your life is now my life, princess. You're extremely interesting to me. Who cares about the others?"

"Is that how you move through life?"

"You can't dwell on things. Sometimes people just don't care or don't….just don't remember. You can't let it stop you from doing what you do…?" He questioned, glancing at her. She looked at him, eyes scanning his face, wondering if maybe he had past experiences with people who don't remember.

"Who doesn't remember you? That's pretty impossible." Eleanor told him with a small smile and he nudged her. "Benjamin….does someone really not remember you?"

"What? You said it yourself, Ellie, no one can forget me." He told her with a smile, looking ahead. "Let's start a fire when we get back. It's so cold."

* * *

><p>The siblings came crashing in the next morning very early. Eleanor and Benjamin had fallen asleep up in her attic domain that had bookshelves upon bookshelves everywhere. Benjamin had built them a pillow fort with all the pillows they could find and sheets. It proved to be extremely warm and the two had fallen asleep.<p>

Technically, Ben fell asleep first. Eleanor had been reading out loud and it lulled him to sleep. Since it was so warm and cozy, Eleanor decided to sleep in it too.

When they heard the door open, Eleanor's mother squeal, the crashing of luggage, and the loud talking of Caleb, they knew peace was over. Ben groaned and turned over, hiding under a blanket as Eleanor sat up, rubbing her face. "Eleanor go back to bed." Ben grumbled.

"We got to get up. He'll come busting in here soon. He'll wreck the fort to get to us." Eleanor shook Ben, but he just whined. He pulled her down and tickled her, making her laugh. "B-Ben!" She panted, trying to get some air into her lungs as she laughed. "C'mon, we need to get up!"

"Fine." He stopped the tickling and sat up, his hair turning black as he pushed his way carefully out of the fort. "Besides, I don't want your brother thinking I was taking advantage of you." Caleb seemed to think Ben had a thing for Eleanor. He shivered at the thought.

Eleanor crawled out of the fort and led him down the steps and out of her hide away room that she escaped to more than she wanted to admit. They went to get ready for the morning and met up back in the hallway twenty minutes later. Ben's hair was now dark blue with hints of purple, because Eleanor liked that best on him and purple eyes. "You can do this." He told her and they heard the door open again, this time more gentle.

"Good morning everyone, sorry if I'm late." They heard Amelia say and then burst of chattering and greeting and hugging with the banging of luggage once more.

"Uh…" Eleanor mumbled, growing nervous again.

"C'mon, princess, take shit from no one. No fear, got it? Your dragon is here to protect you!" He told her with a confident smile.

"Where's Ellie?" They heard Caleb ask from the kitchen.

"She and Benjamin are probably still asleep. They were holed up in the attic last night studying." Eleanor's mother said, probably making breakfast.

"_He's _still here?" Both of the older siblings said together.

"Why wouldn't he be here?" asked them, probably shaking his head. "He doesn't get to go home for the holidays, so just remember that if you decide to pick on him. He has to spend Christmas without his family and little siblings."

"He can go home and never come back." Amelia muttered, not pleased. "He's just too defiant."

"Defiant isn't bad." Caleb told her, probably smirking and brushing his brown bangs out of his face. "But, he's trouble. I can't believe you let her stay home alone all day with him!"

"Hey, maybe they'll be so busy hating me they'll be nice to you?" Ben told her, smirking. "Wonder what they'll do when they find out I'm Slytherin?"

"They'll lose it." Eleanor muttered, starting to hate her siblings for talking about Benjamin so poorly. "I don't think Slytherins are terrible at all."

"Caleb, Benjamin is quite sweet and cares about Eleanor a lot. He's a talented young man." They heard Eleanor's mother tell her older children, almost lecturing them. "He would never do such a thing to Eleanor."

"Let's do this, grab food, and retreat to the fort." He nudged Eleanor. She took a deep breath and started down the stairs. Ben followed closely, giving Eleanor the reassurance she needed.

"Good morning, everyone." She said as they walked down the short hallway to the kitchen.

"Hey sis!" Caleb pulled her into a tight hug. She hugged him back and gave Amelia a short hug before picking a biscuit out of the basket her mother just put them in. "Hey, Benjamin."

"Mornin'." He nodded his head and grabbed a biscuit out of the basket too. Mrs. Wood slapped his hand, shaking her head. "Ellie didn't get in trouble." He whined, snatching the half eaten biscuit from Eleanor and taking a bite. "Remember that piece of garlic bread you took from me months ago? I'm getting revenge now."

"We're about to sit down for breakfast, you two." She shook her head at both of them. "You can wait a minute or two, you aren't starving."

Eleanor wanted to head back upstairs, because her siblings would be home for the next week so they had plenty of time to catch up. She felt bad for not wanting to spend time with them, but, it was just how it was. The age gap was just too big. Maybe when she got older, they could get along better, but, not now.

"We might have to rush through breakfast, mom. Ben and I have a lot of studying to do." She said and sat down at the table. Ben plopped down next to her and Mr. Wood, while Caleb and Amelia sat across from him. Mrs. Wood set the food on the table and they all dug in. Ben kept it light, as did Eleanor, so they could eat quickly and leave.

"Oh yes, O.W.L.S. are coming up in June, aren't they?" Amelia questioned, setting her napkin in her lap. "Better start preparing or you won't pass."

"That's why we're going to study after breakfast and for the rest of the day." Eleanor replied as she ate her eggs.

"How Quidditch going?" Caleb started, looking at the two. Ben stayed quiet, deciding to let Eleanor handle the questions.

"Great! I won our first game." She told them with a head nod. "Hufflepuff plays against Slytherin about a week after we get back, then we go against Gryffindor." She glanced to Ben, who just ate another biscuit.

"Those Slytherins are easy to beat. They're beaters aren't any good." Caleb nodded his head and Amelia agreed. "They can't win a game."

"Actually…they beat Gryffindor." Ben said, not liking the male's insults to his house. "I mean, I think they're beaters are pretty great." He shrugged. He was an amazing beater. He felt Eleanor tense up and her parents looked at Ben.

"You're actually interested in Quidditch? I thought you weren't." Caleb said, preparing for an argument with Benjamin. Quidditch was his life, so he knew best.

"Well I am now since I play." Ben replied, eyes lighting up. Quidditch was incredibly fun to play. Painful, yes, but it was freeing. "I'm a beater."

"I guess I can see it…" Caleb pushed his eggs around on his plate, eyeing the male. Ben wasn't bulky, but he was still young. If he worked out over the summer, he could gain muscle. He was still growing, anyway.

"He's a great beater." Eleanor eyed her parents, telling them not to mention what house that Benjamin was in. Caleb and Amelia probably assumed his was a Hufflepuff or Gryffindor, and she wanted it to stay that way. "But we really got to hit the books!" She hopped up and grabbed her plate, taking it to the sink. Ben followed her and the two raced out of the kitchen.

* * *

><p>"Eleanor, they'll find out." Benjamin mumbled as they hid in the attic. He was on the floor, sketching, while Eleanor actually studied.<p>

They had been up here for a few hours and he was wondering when someone was going to come up here to disturb the peacefulness they had going. He could draw all day and he knew Eleanor could read and study all day, and he was fine with that, but he knew good things don't last forever.

"We can tell them after Christmas." She begged Ben, looking up from her book. "I don't want them to be mean to you. Come on, Benny, you're always protecting me. Let me protect you."

"The longer we put it off the worse it'll it. They'll find out when they see me wearing so much fucking green!" He exclaimed, looking down at his green sweater.

"Green is your favorite color now." She told him, glaring at him. Red was the male's favorite color, but, they didn't have to know that. "We can probably make it the full week without finding out. I'll do all the talking. You won't have to worry."

"I'm not worrying, you're the one worrying." He got up from his spot and walked over to the couch she was curled up on. He plopped down and looked at her. "C'mere." He pulled her over, putting his arm around her, trying to comfort her. "Things will be fine. I'm who I am and it's fine. I don't care what they say. I don't value their opinions like I value yours."

"I just don't want any trouble this holiday. I want my mother to have a happy holiday. She knows it's tense between my siblings and me." She told him and leaned against him. "It's only the first day."

"You know how much I'm going to have to pretend that I fucking love green?" He questioned, making her chuckle a bit. "Oh well, I do look quite good in it."

"You look good in any color." She told him, looking at his now green eyes. "What's your natural eye color?"

"Why?" He asked, looking at her. She looked at him for a few seconds, not saying anything.

"It's not green. It doesn't fit you." She decided and sat up. "Can you not remember your natural eye color?"

"Ah, yeah, well, sometimes I forgot what I actually look like." He shrugged and yawned. "You mind if we nap again in the fort?"

* * *

><p>Opening presents surprisingly went smoothly the next day. Benjamin chilled on the couch with Eleanor, happy to watch her open her presents and stuck all the extra bows she had from the presents on her in various places. He got socks (surprise) from the Woods which was fine for him and he was pretty excited about it since they had dragons on them. His parents had sent him over a few sketch books with some other art supplies and Clara sent him a picture of a dragon she drew.<p>

"She's an angel." He told Eleanor, showing her the picture. It was the first page in his sketch book and it also said _'I love you Benny! Be a good dragon!'_. Ben felt his eyes get misty when he looked at it. "I got Mitchel to buy her this huge pink bunny plush for me. I now owe him money but she'll be happy with it. I'll call her later." He mumbled, looking at his phone for the time. "Still too early across the pond."

"We should go out and play some Quidditch!" Caleb exclaimed and his mother shook her head.

"No. Last Christmas you almost broke your leg." She said sternly. "You can go play some ball, but no flying." He grumbled, but got Amelia and his father to get dressed and go outside. "You two don't want to play?"

"Do we want to go run around in the snow and get hit with baseballs by Caleb?" She asked her mother, giving her a look. "Not really, but I guess we will. It is Christmas." She pulled Benjamin upstairs to get dressed and trotted downstairs with Ben close behind as always. They went outside, feet crunching the snow they walked on. "This is fun. I think it's colder today than it was yesterday." She glanced to Ben, who was watching Caleb hit the ball his sister threw at him. She hooked her arm around his arm and nuzzled up to him.

"Little princess cold?" He questioned, looking at her red nose. "We should go inside. It's too cold for you out here."

"I'm used to it. I'll be fine. Mom likes us to stay outside all day and when we come in we're ready to eat and then we'll sleep and not cause any ruckus. Means if we stay out here long enough, we'll get fed and get to stay in our fort and sleep." She told him with a nod.

"Heads up!" Caleb called and Ben caught the ball that was flying towards Ellie's head swiftly, shooting a glare her brother's way. He threw it back harshly and Caleb barely caught it.

"If he hits you with it I'm going to destroy him." Ben told Eleanor when he turned back to look down at her. "Can't we go help your mom cook or something?"

"We'd eat all the food before it was lunch time." Eleanor told him and he had to agree. He and Eleanor were known to munch and snack on the food throughout the preparing time.

"Ellie, sweetie, James is here for you!" Her mother called out into the large backyard. Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at her, confused. "Oliver, love, Harry is here!"

"I'll be right there!" He called back and began making his way to the porch, excited to see his old friend.

"James is here? For you?" Caleb questioned, walking towards Eleanor. "You dating him?"

"Uh, no!" Eleanor exclaimed, disgusted by the thought. "Potter, why are you here?" She questioned when James poked his head out the back door. He had a red beanie on his head, pushing his bangs into his face. He came out of the door as Mr. Wood went in.

"Can't I come visit you two?" He questioned as he walked over to them. He almost slipped and Ben didn't hold back his laughter at all. "Don't be a jerk." James grumbled to his friend as he reached the two. "Grandma noticed we brought you two up a lot in our stories about school." James told them and waved at Caleb. "She wanted to invite you two over for Christmas lunch or dinner or whatever."

"Really?" Eleanor questioned, eyeing him. "You talked about us?"

"Of course. You are my best friends now." James told him as Caleb approached them. Caleb pulled James into a side hug, smiling at him.

"Potter, how have you been?" Caleb asked, looking at the mall. "Heard you lost to Slytherin."

"It's not my fault, he kept getting me with the bludgers!" James exclaimed, trying to defend himself and he glared at Ben, who just shot him a pleading look.

"What?" Caleb questioned as the back door opened and Harry popped his head out.

"Ready to get going?" He asked the three teens. Eleanor grabbed their hands and pulled the two males with her as she rushed for the door. "Excited, yeah?"

"Oh yes! It will very fun!" Eleanor exclaimed, hoping to get out without incident. "James, be quiet, would you?"

"Ben, aren't you Gryffindor?" Caleb questioned, he and Amelia following them into the house. Eleanor pushed the group to the front door as Ben helped her.

"No, he's Ravenclaw, isn't he? He's creative!" Amelia argued, following the group closely.

"Get us out!" Eleanor told Harry as they went out the front door. "Hurry and apparate us out please!"

"What's the rush?" Harry questioned, pulling out his wand as he tried to get the teens together so he could do it properly.

"What house are you in?!" Caleb questioned as Ben put his arm around Eleanor's waist so he wouldn't get left behind.

"Does he not know?" James questioned and Harry looked equally confused. Eleanor shot them a panicked look.

"Don't tell me you're-"

"Slytherin?" Ben finished for Caleb, turning his eyes green as Harry waved his wand and they were gone.

They appeared in front a very tall and oddly put together house. Ben looked up in amazement at it as Eleanor tugged on his arm, pulling him to follow Harry and James.

"Did they not know you're a Slytherin?" James questioned as they stepped up onto the porch.

"No, they didn't. We'll have to hear about it when we get back." Eleanor sighed and Ben just smiled at her.

"Don't worry about it, princess. I can handle anything like that." He reassured her as Harry opened the door.

"We're back!" Harry called and it grew quiet as everyone that was crammed in the first level of the house looked at them.

"Oh good!" An older woman with orange hair with streaks of gray in it hurried over, smiling widely. "Hello you two! You can call me grandma Molly!"

"Chill!" Ben exclaimed, smiling back at her. "I'm Benjamin, Benjamin Youngblood."

"We've heard about you." A male chuckled. Ben couldn't tell which one said it since there were so many males standing around, looking at them. "You're the American Slytherin, yeah?" Ben looked at the male, a ginger older man who was smirking at him.

"What a lovely title I seem to have, but yeah, that's me." Ben replied with a shrug.

"Thank you for inviting us." Eleanor told Mrs. Weasley, smiling at her.

"Well of course, my dear!" She patted her shoulder. "Now, you kids go run and play so I can finish up dinner without you all snacking on it before it's ready!"

"There's so many." Benjamin told Eleanor as watched half of them kick a ball around, a few build snowmen, and the others having a snowball fight. "I love it."

"Well, The Weasleys were a large family before, but then they got married and had kids so…" Eleanor told him.

"You guys going to join?" Fred questioned as he threw a snowball at Lucy. She dodged it but was smacked in the back with the soccer ball.

"I'm sorry!" Molly called, hurrying over to help Lucy up. "Accident, I swear." Lucy responded with making a snowball and smacking her in the chest with it. Molly left the soccer game (technically football but Benjamin was American so he called it soccer) to join in the snowball fight.

"Don't be too rough." Percy told his two daughters as they began to fight with each other. He no longer tried to stop them when they argued, because it was a bit pointless. The two were different as night and day and they were hot headed and stubborn.

"Too bad Roxanne isn't here. She loves a good snowball fight." Fred said about his younger sister. She had jumped gun on the foreign exchange program and was eager to go to a school in Germany over Hogwarts. He left the game to join the snowball fight and the game was quickly ended so everyone could join in the snowball fight.

"You want to join?" Ben questioned Albus, who was standing on the porch, leaning against the railing.

"No, because I'll get snow stuffed down my pants. Again." He grumbled as Lily giggled beside him. She hopped over the railing and joined the fray. "Snow always ends up in my pants."

This made Victoire laugh loudly as she sat on the porch steps with her boyfriend, Teddy. The two were snuggled up with each other, happy with each other. Albus glared at his cousin and then looked forward at his siblings and cousins.

"I would join, but I don't want my clothes soaked." Eleanor said, turning to look at Albus. She felt something cold hit her back and she shrieked, turning around quickly. "WHO THREW THAT?!" She exclaimed. Everyone pointed at James, who went pale. "Benjamin!" Eleanor looked at the blue haired male.

"Let's get him." Ben grinned and the two ran at James, who almost screamed. He quickly made a snowball and threw it but they easily dodged it and pelted him with snowballs of their own.

"Shouldn't have gone after Ellie, James." Rose told her cousin as he got him in the face with a snowball. "You know that if you mess with Ellie, you mess with Ben too."

"I thought we were bros though!" He exclaimed, tossing a snowball at Ben, hitting him in the chest.

"Eleanor is first." He replied as he wiped the snow off his jacket. "You should know that one, Potter!"

"I wasn't thinking, obviously." He grumbled and Eleanor smacked him in the head with a snowball. "Damn!" He exclaimed, shaking the snow out of his hair.

"Dream team!" She exclaimed, high fiving Ben. The two laughed at James, who gave them annoyed looks. "Oh, come on James, you did start it. Next time you should try to be on our team and not the opposing side."

"I'll try to remember that." He rolled his eyes as Ben shivered and retreated back towards the house, too cold to play anymore.

"Snow is only fun for a little bit." He told Albus, who had a cup of hot chocolate in his hands now. "Good thing my hair is already blue." He said this and made Al smile a bit.

"I like to watch them smack each other with snowballs. Far more entertaining than getting smacked." Albus told him as Eleanor continued to play. "You aren't going to protect Eleanor?"

"The princess is on her own. Snow won't hurt her." Ben leaned against the porch, not up for another round. "I got to save my energy anyway. Her bother might kill me when I get back to her place."

"Why?" Albus asked, sipping his hot drink.

"I'm Slytherin." Ben shrugged, looking up at Al. "Apparently that's a terribly dreadful thing to be, according to Amelia and Caleb. I don't know if they know this, but I'm kinda the odd one out no matter what, so I don't see why they were so surprised to find out my house. Like damn, I wear an insane amount of green."

"Green suits you." Albus told him with a head nod. "I get you about that one….."

"Figured you would." Ben smiled and Albus looked at him before smiling back at him.

"And green eyes don't suit you." Albus said to him and Ben pouted.

"You and Eleanor say the same thing. What eye color do you want me to have?" Ben now turned to look up at Albus, tilting his head.

"Your natural eye color would be nice." Albus thought back to the picture. He barely got a look at Ben as he naturally looked, but he was sure his eyes were blue.

"Natural eye color? Afraid I don't have a clue what you're talking about, my dear Albus." A smirk spread across Ben's face as his eyes went gold. "I change too much to remember what I truly look like."

"And I'm going to call you a liar on that one." Albus said, surprising Ben, who eyes went gray. "You remember what you look like. How could you not?"

"My memory is pretty bad." Ben shrugged and turned away as Eleanor approached them. "Hello my princess, how was the snow fight?"

"Cold." She whined, reaching out to hug Ben. "Warm me best friend." He sighed and held his arms out, she eagerly hugged him tightly. He wrapped his arms around her, rolling his eyes at his best friend. "So jealous of your warmth."

"You should've stopped playing when I stopped." He felt her cold face against his warm neck and shivered, but kept her close.

"You two are cute together." Victoire told them, smiling a perfect smile. Her blonde hair was in curls and her eyes were bright.

"We're purely platonic." Ben told her, putting his chin on top of Eleanor's head. "But thank you, we do try to be absolutely, disgustingly, adorable." Eleanor snuggled against him and whined, her nose freezing cold. "Fuck, El, you're too cold for me."

"Get over it." She muttered and Ben looked over at James, who seemed a little angry.

"Wanna join us, Potter?" Ben called out to the male, who raised his eyebrows before he walked over. "We're best friends, right? Group hug!"

"What?" Eleanor questioned as James joined the hug, bringing his freezing self against the two.

"This was a shit idea." Ben whined, now feeling regret. "You two are both cold and I cannot deal with this." James looked happy to get to hug Eleanor, so of course, Ben stuck it out. Eleanor complained, but was content once she became warm. "Seeeeeee? We're hugging. This is friendship."

"This is entrapment." Eleanor mumbled even though she was pretty okay with it now.

* * *

><p>Ben sat in between James and Eleanor at dinner. He was honestly surprised they had a table large enough to fit everyone, but he didn't question it at all. He just ate and smiled at everyone, which was what he usually did.<p>

"Ben, I heard you made Slytherin beater." Harry started, catching the male's attention. "Heard Hugh's making it tough for you as well."

"That's only because Ben flirts with Alice all the time." Rose piped in, taking a bit of her food.

"It's not flirting. I treat everyone like that."

"You don't treat James like that."

"Potter is an unfortunate case." Ben replied quickly, smirking at James. "It's the same way I treat Eleanor and Bailey. It's all extremely platonic. I don't really 'flirt' with people."

"You look like you could be a ladies man." Ron said and Eleanor almost choked on her food. She started laughing and Ben pouted at her.

"Wow. Rude." He told her as her cheeks got red. "I'm not actually anybody's type of man. I have a total of eight friends and I don't think half of them even know I consider us friends. Basically I'm in the same boat as Eleanor." This made the girl stop laughing and glare at him. "You know I'm joking, princess, relax. People aren't really my thing."

"Dragons are." Eleanor muttered with an eyeroll. "All he talks about are dragons."

"I like that." Charlie said, smiling at Ben. "I actually work with dragons."

"No way." Ben's face lit up and Charlie was now his idol. "That's so cool! I want to work with dragons! They're such amazing creatures!"

"Oh gee." Ginny smirked at her brother and Ben, who started to talk about dragons.

"How come dragons always come up at family dinners?" Hugo questioned and Molly chuckled, eating her food.

"Let the two bond over dragons. Tell me how school is going." His mother, Hermione, told him.

"Is he a metamorphmagus?" Teddy questioned, looking at Ben's hair, which went from blue to bright red as he spoke to Charlie. He looked to James, who glanced at Ben.

"Oh, didn't I tell you that?" James questioned, trying to remember if he brought it up.

"That's amazing." Teddy told him, excited that there was someone like him. "You know how rare we are, right? How could you forget?"

"I swore I told someone. I just….kind of forgot that I guess. I'm so used to it it's not really that odd." James said and Eleanor nodded her head in agreement.

"He changes his hair at least five times a day." She told Teddy, who still seemed impressed. "It's a family thing. His grandmother is one as well."

"That's super cool!" Teddy exclaimed as Ben finished his conversation about dragons.

"What's cool? What are we talking about?" He questioned, a little lost.

"That you're a metamorphmagus too!" Teddy was super excited about this and Ben's face lit up, happy to talk to Teddy.

"Yes, it is! It's super cool that you're one too! I've never met one that was closer to my age." Ben told him. "Eleanor mentioned you a few months ago and I got super excited."

"I think he fits it quite well here. Can I leave him here?" Eleanor asked and Ben looked at her like he was a kicked puppy. "Oh, shush, I was joking. Go talk with someone of your kind." He turned back to Teddy instantly and the two picked up where they left off seconds before.

* * *

><p>"Thanks again." Ben told Harry when he dropped them off later that evening.<p>

"It's no problem, everyone loved you two. I guess I'll be seeing you soon, behave and make sure James stays out of trouble." He told them before disappearing. Eleanor led Ben into the house as quietly as she could, hoping her siblings were asleep and wouldn't harass Benjamin.

It seemed quiet, so they hurried upstairs and changed and went through their nightly routine, before meeting up in the fort in the attic.

"Let's just hope the next few days are easy." Eleanor said as she laid next to Ben in the fort. "Hey, don't forget to call Clara."

"Oh, shit, I can't believe I almost forgot." He pulled out his phone and dialed the number quickly, laying back down as it rang. "Hey, ma. How ya doing?"

Eleanor listened to him talk, his Boston accent stronger now that he was talking to his family. He sounded so sweet when he spoke to Clara and his step mother, and sassy when he spoke to his older brother and father.

His voice was soothing and she fell asleep quickly.

* * *

><p>The door to the attic swung open the next morning and Caleb was running up the stairs and towards the fort before Eleanor knew what was happening. She was curled up with Ben, happily asleep when the top sheet was ripped off the fort.<p>

"Wake up! Two Potters and a Weasley are here to see you!" He exclaimed, waking Benjamin up. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"I'm fucking sleeping." Ben spat, not pleased with how he was woken up. Eleanor glanced at the clock. It was almost noon, so her mother probably sent Caleb to come wake them up. He went to bed late last night and was in a bad mood.

"Next to my sister?" Caleb looked like he was ready to kill Ben. "First you try to hide you're a Slytherin, then you go and sleep with my sister!?"

"The hell? I didn't do shit!" Ben got up now, sick and tired of Caleb. "We do this stuff all the time and it's none of your business!"

"She's my little sister! It is my business!"

"Fuck that." Eleanor was surprised at how vulgar Ben was being and she got up quickly, wanting them to stop arguing.

"Ben, come on." She mumbled and he glanced at her before looking back at Caleb.

"No way, princess." Ben told her and glared at Caleb. "I'm an older brother too, so I know that how you treat Eleanor is shit. You can't go around ignoring her accomplishments just because you've already graduated, and you can't go talking about how Potter is going to go pro, when Eleanor is far better than he is!" He argued, too pissed to care how angry Caleb would be with him. "She shouldn't have to dread coming home for the holidays because you and your sister are here! She should be happy to see you and you should be happy to hear about how well she's doing, not belittle her and treat her like she's a child."

"Look, Slytherin, I don't need you butting into my business!"

"Apparently you do since you're too blind to see this shit for yourself, Gryffindor!" Ben balled his fists. "I'm not going to stand around and let you treat Eleanor like this anymore!"

"Then maybe you should go." Caleb said in a threatening tone and reached out to grab Ben, who dodged him quickly. Ben took off down the stairs, knowing there was no way he could beat Caleb in a fight, but maybe he could outrun him. Caleb ran after him, and Eleanor after him.

Ben tore down the stairs to the second floor, then down to the first floor. He ran into the living room, passed Amelia who shouted as Caleb chased him. He rushed by Mr. Wood's office and through the kitchen were Mrs. Wood was. Eleanor was screaming after them as Caleb pulled out his wand to cast a spell on Ben.

"Ben?!" Rose shouted as he ran past her, Albus, and James in the hallway.

He wasn't dressed properly, but the only place he had left to go was out the door. He swung the door open and was running barefoot down the icy cold stairs. The cold air hit his face and he wished he had gotten dressed before he had yelled at Caleb.

"Caleb, stop it!" Eleanor shouted and Ben knew Caleb was right behind him.

"What the hell is going on?!" Mr. Wood shouted as Ben jumped the fence into the backyard. Everyone seemed to be following the chase now, even in the bitter cold. "Caleb! Benjamin! Damn it where is my wand? Stop you two!"

"I'm going to destroy him!" Caleb was pissed as hell and wasn't going to let Benjamin out of this. He grabbed onto Ben's sleeve, giving up on trying to hit him with a spell, and yanked him back. Ben flew back and slammed into the ice cold ground.

"Stop!" Eleanor got in front of Ben before Caleb could do any more damage. "What the hell is wrong with you!?"

"What the hell is wrong with the both of you?" Mr. Wood shouted at Ben and Caleb. Ben just groaned, starting to feel light headed and his whole body ached from being thrown to the ground. He was freezing cold and his toes were numb.

"Ben was just defending me, dad." Eleanor told her father right away before she turned to Ben. "Are you okay? C'mon, get up. Your clothes are soaking wet and you'll freeze to death." She helped him up, glaring at Caleb before leading Ben inside. James, Rose, and Albus followed quickly into the kitchen, where Mrs. Wood was, trying to figure out what happened. "It was all Caleb's fault, mom." Eleanor told her shaking her head at her brother, who was walking towards the house with their father.

Eleanor led them upstairs to the attic and made Ben go into the bathroom that was there. She fetched him dry clothes, locked the attic door behind her, and gave them to him.

"What the hell happened?" James asked as Eleanor fixed the roof of their fort while Ben changed clothes.

"Caleb was being an asshole to me, so Ben went off on him." Eleanor told them. "Caleb and Amelia and I don't really see eye-to-eye. The age gap kind of makes it hard for us to really get along, and…..they don't treat me fairly. Ben just got sick of it and went off."

"Oh.." Rose mumbled, still holding onto a small bag. "We came to bring you your scarf back. You accidentally left it yesterday…I guess we have pretty bad timing….."

Ben came out in new clothes and limped over to Eleanor, who pushed them all into the fort.

"This is really nice.." Albus was extremely impressed by how large and warm it was.

"Well hopefully they'll leave us alone and let us remain in here." Eleanor grumbled, pulling Ben to sit down next to her. "Are you okay? Are you cut anywhere? Is anything broken?"

"My leg just hurts because I fell on it weird and my side is probably going to bruise. I'll be fine." Ben grumbled, upset. "Your parents are going to kick me out."

"No they won't!" Eleanor exclaimed, shaking her head. "I refuse to let them. You were protecting me." Eleanor patted his head, looking up at him. "It's only a few more days and then we can go back to school. We won't come home for Easter break."

"You can't run from your problems." Ben told her.

"You sure did." Rose said and Ben shot her a look, making her shut up. "Well you did…I'm surprised he didn't hit you with a charm or something."

"That's why I ran in zig zags." Ben told them, hand on his side. "One thing is for sure, my ass is in trouble."

"Don't worry about it. I'll talk to my parents." Eleanor told him. "Caleb needed to hear that! He's so obnoxious and I should have done it myself. I couldn't even stand up to him." She mumbled as she heard knocking at the attic door.

"We should probably leave." Albus said to Rose and James. Neither looked like they were ready to go, but it was probably for the best that they left.

"You can use the floo we have up here." Eleanor led them out the fort and over to the fireplace. "I'll see you three at school next week…thank you for bringing my scarf. Sorry it was such horrible timing." She smiled at them and James patted her shoulder. Rose threw powder before saying clearly where they wanted to go, and they were gone.

"I'll answer the door." Ben mumbled, peaking his head out of the fort. He tried to get out but winced and groaned. "F-Fuck…"

"Don't move! One of your ribs might have been broken! Your side hit the ground real hard." Eleanor told him, hurrying over to him. "Lay there." She ordered and went over to the door. She unlocked it and peaked her head through the crack. Her father stood there, looking tired.

"Eleanor." He said. "I knocked instead of using a spell." She opened the door all the way and looked at him. "What happened?"

"It was Caleb's fault, okay dad?" She told him quickly. "Caleb had just been….he's been pissing me off and I hate coming home to see him and Amelia. They don't treat me fairly. Ben just got tired of them treating me like that and told him and Caleb got violent. It doesn't help that Caleb found out that Ben is in Slytherin. Plus, Caleb started yelling at Ben because he slept in the fort with me, but, we've done that since we made it. Ben's been more of a brother than Caleb has been."

He nodded his head as she spoke and sighed when she was done. "Alright…well…Benjamin, you aren't in trouble." He called to the male, who was hidden in the fort.

"Oh, thank you, Mr. Wood. I'm sorry." Ben mumbled, peaking his head out of the fort.

"Are you alright? You hit the ground hard. Nothing broken, yeah?"

"Nothing broken. Just sore. Extremely sore. I'm just….goin' lay here…" He waved his arm and groaned, retreating back into the fort.

"Make sure to get a good look at him, okay, Ellie?" He looked at his daughter. "He won't let any of us touch him, I know that much. Don't worry about Caleb, he's going back to work tomorrow and so is Amelia. You three, well, now four..." He said, including Benjamin in this matter. "Are all adults and your mother and I will let you all work it out." With that, he was gone, closing the door behind him.


	11. Chapter 11

**There will be a little more BenxAl sprinkled in the next few chapters but this story is from their fifth to their seventh year and I have tons of stuff planned for later chapters**

* * *

><p>"Good to see you're still alive." James said as he passed by Ben's table at breakfast a week later. "How's the bruise?"<p>

"Very purple." Ben muttered, side still sore from the previous week's incident. "Want to see it?"

"Not really.." James muttered, hovering by the table. "You didn't get in trouble, did you?"

"No, thankfully." The rest of the week had been awkward for Ben. Eleanor's parents didn't treat him any differently, but he felt like he made a mess of things. He didn't regret doing it though. Caleb needed to hear the truth.

He knew there was no way he was going to get to stay with them again next year, and if he couldn't stay with Eleanor, he wasn't going to come back.

The bruise put him in a shit mood all day and he wasn't in the mood to deal with anyone. He kept his hair black and eyes gray as he trudged through the busy day. It was stuffed with essays and homework and reminders about O.W.L.S. and his future and other shit he was too tired to think about it.

It was snowy and disgusting outside and it made his mood worse.

"That's it." Alice stomped over to his and James' table in Divination. They were free to work on a quiz together and she had finished it quickly. "Let me see the bruise. You must be over reacting." She was tired of seeing Ben so gloomy.

"Excuse me, I'm not James." Ben told her and James was going to argue, but Fred shot him a look. James was over dramatic. "I don't wanna show you it." He didn't want to get snippy with Alice, but, it was getting difficult.

"Ben, let me touch you." Alice reached to pull his robe back.

"Alice, come on, you have a boyfriend." He smirked and pushed her hands away, trying to get her to stop. She just glared at him and pulled his robe back and lifted up his sweater.

"Oh my god, Ben!" She exclaimed, seeing the bruised side. It was black, blue, purple, and an ugly yellow in some spots. "What the hell?"

"It's not as bad as it seems." He pulled his sweater down and shot her a look. "Really. It only hurts when I breathe."

"Caleb really got him." Alice sat down next to Eleanor, head in her hands. "Ben, you are ridiculous, you know that? You aren't going to go to practice this weekend, right? It won't be healed by then."

"Of course I'm going to practice!" He exclaimed eagerly. "Practice is the bomb. Alice, I'll be fine. I already reassured Ellie, so you don't have to worry. I can take care of myself. I barely notice it." That part was a lie, but he didn't want her to worry about him. She looked at him, but let it go, deciding not to push him. She could tell his temper was shot, and while Ben never got angry or yelled at her, she knew there was always a first time for everything.

* * *

><p>"I cannot believe he's playing this game." Eleanor muttered to herself, head in her hands.<p>

"He'll be fine." Lysander told her.

"He could barely move, even three days after the incident. He's clearly in pain!" She exclaimed and pointed as Ben slammed his bat into the bludger and sent it flying.

She was right, he was in extreme pain. Tomorrow he wouldn't even get out of bed, but, today he had to play. Every time he swung the bat or took a breath, it hurt and burned, but he had been through worse before.

"He just wants to make you happy." Alice said the announcer screamed something. She made a face, annoyed by the loud noise, but she was used to it by now. "Frank is doing amazing today." She watched her brother zoom by, a chaser for Hufflepuff.

"I told him he shouldn't play." Eleanor told the small group, shaking her head. "He's so stubborn."

"Look who's talking." Lorcan muttered, glancing at his twin. The game had been very good so far but he knew Eleanor was too focused in one Benjamin to even watch the game.

"I'm too worried." She knew she should relax. Ben wasn't a child, he knew his limits, but, Eleanor knew he ignored his limits. He was going to push himself until he really got hurt. He was moving slower than usual but he hit the bludger with more force than she thought he was capable of. She saw him wince after every hit and she was begging someone would catch the snitch and end the game. At this point, she didn't care who won.

"Eleanor, relax." Bailey told her, wishing she wasn't so on edge. It was no use though, because Eleanor wasn't going to listen to him.

The watched the game closely and it was a very neighboring match. The two teams were on top of each other and tied at the moment

Hufflepuff's seeker was close to catching it but Eleanor was focused in on Ben, who was slammed into by one of the Hufflepuff beaters. He was sent flying and crashed into the side of the arena. He landed on the ground, hard, and Eleanor screamed as the announcer shouted about the hit and whether or not he was going to get back up.

Ben really hated life sometimes. His vision was getting black and he was fading but he heard Eleanor screams above everything else. "Elenaor shut up I'm fine!" He shouted as Frank flew near him.

Frank was the team captain for Hufflepuff and Ben really liked him. He wasn't an asshole, at all, probably because Alice was his sister and Ben was friends with her. "You okay?" He shouted down to Ben, who just gave him a thumbs up. He chuckled and flew off towards Eleanor's stand, where the girl was still screaming. "Ben says to shut up. He's fine." He told her and her face got red.

"Thanks Frank." Alice told her brother with an eye roll. He laughed and flew off to rejoin the game. "He shouldn't have played!"

"I told you!" Eleanor exclaimed and the two girls ranted about it. "This game needs to end now! Ben needs to go see a nurse! I bet he has some broken ribs now!"

"He could be knocked out cold down there! He could have brain damage!" Alice added, both extremely worried about Ben.

Ben was fine. He thought. He was kind of out of it. His torso hurt and he wasn't going to be able to walk properly but he thought he was fine.

Then he blacked out.

* * *

><p>"Ben….oi…Ben!" James was shaking him, trying to wake him up. He was really worried about the male. "Please, Ben, get up."<p>

"I'm here…" Ben groaned, waving his hand around. It smacked James, who stumbled back. He sat up, groaning, and holding his head with his hand. "Where…..what…" He opened his eyes slowly, looking at James. "Fuck!" He exclaimed, hands covering his face.

"Relax. The teams are in the locker room. I hurried out here to get you. God, convincing Eleanor to stay out there was awful. You owe me. You have no clue how hard it was for them to let me come out here and not have the nurses out here." He helped Ben up and grabbed the male's broom for him. "I knew you got knocked out. I don't still why you don't want anyone to see what you actually look like, but whatever. A few of them saw you but your face was to the side so no worries." He shrugged as Ben limped with him. "You're fine, yeah?"

"Yeah, fine. Just a little…out of it." He grumbled, leaning on James more as his face and hair changed, along with his eye color, back to what it usually was. "I'm used to this sort of thing. Clara has accidently knocked me out before." He explained as James helped him to the locker room.

"There you are, Youngblood!" His captain said as he approached them. "You alright? Potter said he had it under control, but, still worried a bit."

"I'm good, sorry about…blacking out." He didn't know what to really say. He felt sick and really wanted to go lay down. He stripped off his uniform and slowly put on his normal clothes as James helped him. "Did we win at least?"

"You getting knocked out like that seemed to pump up the others. We kicked their arses." He smirked proudly, patting Ben's shoulder. "So good job. Go get some medical attention and if they tell you not to come to practice, don't, yeah?" He told him before leaving.

"They were really ruthless after that." James told him as they left the locker rooms. "Lean on me." He told Ben, forcing the now purple haired male to lean on him. "We're going to see a nurse." He pushed the door open and saw the three girls standing there.

"Ben!" Eleanor shouted when she saw them. She ran over to him, her hands instantly going to his face. "Are you okay? Was he knocked out, James? Where do you hurt?"

"I only blacked out for like….a minute." Ben actually had no idea how long he was knocked out.

"Benjamin, you were out for an hour." Alice told them as she joined them, shaking her head. "We need to get you to the infirmary."

"I can't believe you're walking." Bailey sighed as they all headed back towards the school. "Are you really sure you're okay?"

"All I need to do is sleep." He told them, shaking his head. "I was out for an hour? It didn't feel like that…"

"That guy hit you really hard." Eleanor mumbled, letting Ben lean on her now. "Urg, he better hope I don't run into him! I'll take him down!" She exclaimed, getting furious all over again. "I was so ready to jump him the second you hit the ground!"

"Ellie, c'mon, he was playing the game." Ben replied, head aching. Her yelling made his head ache more and he was starting to fade out again. "Uh…" He mumbled and James was on his other side instantly, helping him.

"Ellie I think your yelling is hurting his head." James told her, trying to not make the girl feel bad. "He just needs to sleep and he'll be fine."

"Amazing when James is the voice of reason." Alice smirked at her friend who stuck his tongue out at her. "But I think he's right. Ben just needs some peace and quiet. He'll sleep and feel better."

"I'm right here." Ben muttered, glancing at them. "I just need a nap. You guys don't have to get so worried about me, really. I've been through worse stuff before."

"It doesn't mean we aren't going to worry!" Eleanor told him, frowning at him. "We're your friends, of course we're going to worry about you! Now you're going to do everything the nurse tells you to do and you won't get out of bed until she says you can!"

Ben looked at her as she ranted before he rolled his eyes and patted her head. She shot him a look, but let it go as they made it to the infirmary and got him checked out by a nurse.

* * *

><p>Ben really was tired of being confined to the bed. He needed to move his hands and do something.<p>

"Relax, Benny." Alice sighed, pushing a chair over to his bed. She had been coming to visit him a few times a day to make sure he didn't fall too far behind with school. "Eleanor wanted to come by again, but, I told her to go to her Quidditch practice."

"Thank you." Ben told her, sitting up more in his bed. Eleanor had been focusing more on Ben than qudditch or her studies and he knew that wasn't good. He loved to have her visit but he was fine. She didn't need to come five times a day to check up on him. "I'll be out of here soon. They just want my bruise to heal up so I don't hurt myself any more."

"Good. It's too quiet around here without you." Alice ruffled his white hair and smiled at him. It was Thursday and the week really had been boring with Ben hanging around them. "I can't believe Caleb came after you like that. He's really carefree and fun to be around. I thought you two would get along."

"I don't tend to get along with assholes much." He mumbled as he messed with the pillow behind his back. "I don't like how he and Amelia treated Eleanor."

"They aren't the kindest to her." Alice agreed, shaking her head. "I think what you did was admirable. Eleanor would have never stood up to her siblings like that. I tried to tell her that's not how you're supposed to treat siblings. They treat her like she's nothing and that isn't right. I'm glad someone finally stuck it to them. They shouldn't be bothering her anymore."

"Yeah, well, I got a feeling I won't be allowed back there." He grumbled, looking at his hands in his lap. "I'll probably be back in America next school year. If I can't stay with Ellie there's no point."

"But Ben, you have to come back." Alice grabbed his hands and held them tightly, surprising him. "We'll all miss you if you don't come back. What would Eleanor do without you looking out for her?"

Ben thought about it, feeling Alice's eyes on him. "I'll see. I don't really want to go back to my school anyway. It's lonely there. Plus, Potter and Eleanor will never get together if I go back home." This made Alice laugh and she took her hands from Ben and flipped a few pages in her book.

"Good. Now, let's get to studying, or you'll really be behind." Alice chided and he groaned, not in the mood. He and Alice had really been hitting the books hard and he was bored of it.

"I want to run and play." He whined. "Potter always brings treats for me." It was true. James always brought cool things from his Uncle's shop and sweets for them to munch on and always had gossip. Eleanor and Alice always tutored him and caught him up with school work.

"Well, Potter has been misbehaving and has been getting detention so his playtime with you is about non-existent at the moment and for the future." Alice told him, trying to get him to direct his attention back to his studies. "I know you hate being confined here, but, that's not much more you can do."

"I want to draw." He mumbled, rubbing his hands together. "I need to do something with my hands, Alice. All I do is sleep and watch the nurses and study but I need to move my hands and I need to draw. I feel paranoid and nervous." He confessed, feeling a bit embarrassed that something so simple was causing him to become upset.

"You want me to get Albus or Rose or Scorpius to fetch your sketchbook? I usually run into them after leaving here." Alice offered, knowing something was off about him. He had gotten quiet the last couple of times she came for a visit, and that was never good.

"Really?" He questioned, eyes lighting up. "Yes, please! It's so boring here and I'm going to be in here at least until next Monday. This is killing me slowly not having anything to do."

"You could always study and catch up on homework." Alice reminded him, putting her book up. They just weren't going to get anything done today so she decided to quit while she was behind.

"Alice. You don't understand." He told her, a serious expression on his face. "I've done all my homework. I've read ahead for ALL of my classes. I could ace my next exams no problem. I am bored and out of my mind."

"You've….really done it all?" She questioned, eyebrows raised. There was no way he did he homework.

"Yes." He replied and reached over to the other side of the bed and pulled up a few books with papers in them. "Could you turn my homework and stuff in for me?" He asked, handing it to her. "I stuck all the homework in the book that matches the class. I've read all the books. ALL OF THEM. Literally Alice I am going mad. I started speaking with a British accent this morning. I'm losing my mind."

"I'll get you that sketch book." She said, taking his homework from him and leaving the books with him. "I like your Boston accent. It's cute."

"Thanks, I try. You should hear me when I'm with my family. It's so….there." He chuckled, feeling much better now that he was going to have his sketch book back in his hands.

* * *

><p>"How are you feeling, Benny?" Eleanor asked the next day when she came and visited him. "Alice told me you did all of your school work and actually read ahead for your classes so I was little worried you had brain damage."<p>

"Okay that was fucking rude." He told her, sketching in his sketch book. "I actually listened to you and did my school work."

"I was just playing around, you dork." She ruffled his pink hair and sat down next to him. "Are you feeling any better?"

"It still kind of hurts to bend over, but, the nurses said by Monday it should be much better. I think they plan on getting me some medication to knock me out the entire weekend so my body can rest. I've been testing their patience lately. I was good today though." He seemed proud of himself for not taking a piss out of the nurses, which made Eleanor roll her eyes. "I'm glad my parents sent me a few sketch books for Christmas. I've almost filled up this one." He said and she directed her attention to it. She snatched it from his hands, getting nosy about what was in it. "Hey!"

"I want to take a peek!" She told him and flipped through it, looking at the pages with intent eyes. Ben squirmed a bit, nervous has she looked at his drawings. "Ben…" She stopped at one of Alice. It was like she was looking straight at you, a small smile on her lips as she stared into your soul. "Ben this is so beautiful."

"Eh, I couldn't get her nose right." He mumbled, embarrassed when she flipped the page and froze.

"You drew me?!" She asked, looking at him with wide eyes before looking back to the page, seeing a drawing of herself sitting at the table in the Great Hall, a piece of toast in one hand and the other hand on a book that was on the table. Even in the drawing, she looked so focus on the book and it even looked like she had a bit of the toast in her mouth and was chewing it as she read.

"I draw you a lot. You're very animated." He told her with a shrug. "Plus, I see you a lot. I could draw you even after a month of being apart. Your details are engraved in my head. Which sounds creepy but it's not supposed to be creepy. I just mean, I can't forget you and what you look like or how you eat your toast and get crumbs all over the book your reading and then that face you make when I tease you about it." He grinned as she pouted at him, but then look back to the drawing, taking it all in.

"Ben this is really….amazing. It looks so real…." She ran her fingers over it lightly, in awe over it. "You're so talented." She looked up at him and his cheeks were red with embarrassed. "Awah, all flustered?"

"Can it, Ellie. I'm glad you like it though. Most people get angry that I draw them without their permission."

"I find it flattering. I'm so telling Alice about that drawing of her. She'll love it." Eleanor told him, looking through the rest. "I'll get Albus to bring you the one your parents sent you for Christmas since this one is almost filled up."

"Thank youuuuuuuuu!" He grinned, taking his sketch book back from her.

* * *

><p>"Hey, Ben." Albus greeted, sitting down next to him. "You awake?" He asked, looking at the male. He looked half asleep as he looked at Albus.<p>

"Yeah….nurses gave me stuff." He replied with a yawn. "I'm fighting it though. They want me to sleep this entire weekend away…I say neighhhhhhhhhhhh."

"You need to go to sleep." Albus set the sketch book on the nightstand next to his bed as Benjamin yawned again. Albus had missed the male the past week. He was a lot of fun at lunch and the two usually ended up in the common room together late into the night. Ben would draw and Albus would read, the two in comfortable silence.

"Albus, please." He grumbled, sitting up to keep himself awake. Albus chuckled at how hard he was trying to stay awake.

"How's the bruise?"

"It's going away. Ribs are much better. They want me to knock out and sleep so I stop moving around so much. I should be back at it on Monday." He told him, rubbing his eyes. "I acted well today but then they gave me this shitty tasting stuff."

"So you began to whine?" Ben shot him a look after he asked this, but he still laughed.

"I will not sit around and be drugged!" Ben's mind was already getting hazy and keeping his eyes open was getting difficult. "Urg…" He grumbled, yawning once more. "Albussssss." Ben was hitting his arm now and Albus looked at him. "You're so cuteeeeeeeeeeeeee!"

"Shut up and go to sleep." Albus took the other sketch book off of Ben's lap and flipped through it, looking at each picture carefully. Ben went quiet and when he glanced up, the male was knocked out cold, face buried in his pillow. Albus chuckled and went back to looking through his sketch book.

The ones at the start were older ones he must have done back home. There were a few of his siblings all over one page, then one of his stepmother and one he guessed was his grandmother. Many of the other pictures were dragons in between pages of drawings of his family. Albus decided to stay and continue looking through his sketchbook.

"You really are talented…" He mumbled to Ben, even though he knew he was asleep. He just didn't expect Ben, the hyperactive Slytherin, to be able to sit and focus on someone or something and draw them. The drawings soon turned to ones of Eleanor, then Alice, Lorcan and Lysander, James, Bailey, and really anyone he came in contact with. He stopped on the page that had a picture of him, Rose, and Scorpius. They were outside, sitting in the class with their backs against the short stone wall in one of the many courtyards.

Rose was talking, her hands in the air like she was describing something. Scorpius seemed to be rolling his eyes, so it was possible Ben caught them in an argument. He saw himself there too, reading a book. The shading was perfect and it was obvious he spent a lot of time of on this drawing.

He felt a little embarrassed, because it meant he had watched them, watched Albus, and gotten them down so perfectly. He flipped to the next page and the page after that, examining each one. When he finally got to the end, it was about an hour later.

"Al…" Ben's voice was hoarse and groggy as he rolled over on the bed to face Al. He had the blanket pulled over his head and all Al saw was the male's bright blue eyes. Al reached for the glass of water on the nightstand and handed it to him. He gulped it down before handing it back to Al and sighing, settling back under the covers and closing his eyes again.

Albus decided to stay and read his book, waiting until Ben woke up again.


	12. Chapter 12

**Thank you for the reviews, follows, and favorites!**

* * *

><p>It felt weird walking and going to class after a week of bed rest, but Ben was happy to be freed. He was in such a good mood and he felt so much better now that his bruise and ribs healed up.<p>

Of course, when he got to Dark Arts class, his good mood was killed in an instant. He had done all his homework, but apparently he did it all wrong and was forced to do an extra essay assignment to pull up his grade, which was stupid because he knew he did his homework right. He was so bored in the bed, he had actually done everything right and double checked himself.

"She really hates you." James muttered as they left the class. He could see the professor was honing in on Ben and she was taking it too far. "You should talk to the Headmistress…"

"Nah, I'll live." He grumbled, brushing it off. He didn't want to cause a big deal out of this and he refused to be sent back to America because of it. All the other American students would be sent back too and they wouldn't be allowed to go back to Hogwarts. "This essay is bullshit though."

"We should fill her office with bubble juice." James suggest and Ben went quiet, thinking it over.

"Potter…..maybe." The two smirked at each other and McGonagall sighed as she walked past them in the hallway.

"Mr. Youngblood, Mr. Potter, please wipe those devious looks off of your faces." She couldn't believe she got stuck with three generations of pranksters and this American.

"Oh, Professor, don't sweat it!" Ben grinned, winking at her. "We're not planning anything."

"Yeah, no worries. We're just…uh.."

"Thinking about girls." Ben finished for James and elbowed him. "And boys."

"I'm thinking about girls." James glared at Ben as he watched Albus walk by them. "Eyes off my brother!" Ben smirked at his friend, having fun teasing him.

"Just stay out of trouble, please." McGonagall didn't deserve this.

* * *

><p>Ben finished the essay and slipped it under her office door like she had asked him to do. Even if she wanted him to hand it to her, he wouldn't. He hated her so much, probably as much as she hated him.<p>

He thought he could get used to it, but she was starting to make Hogwarts life difficult. January was just a hellish month for him, mostly due to the injury and to her, but he was determined to make February better.

"Ready for Valentines day?" Ben questioned his group at dinner time. They all shot him a look and he laughed loudly. "Awah, got no baes to spend it with?

"Be quiet, Benjamin. Valentine's day is just annoying. Yes, it's cute for couples, but boyfriends get in the way of studying and Quidditch!" Eleanor exclaimed and pulled her hair up in a messy bun, tired of it being in her face while she tried to study. "O.W.L.S. are important and you can't spend your free time on a boyfriend or girlfriend. You need to be studying."

"Don't shoot that at me. I'm not in a relationship and I doubt I will be in the next….twelve days." He said, thinking to what day it was. "Studying is so boring though."

"Don't fall behind." Alice nudged him from the right of him, shaking her head. "You've finally caught up and you need to start studying for these exams too."

"You not going out with Hugh on Valentine's Day?" Ben questioned, looking at the short haired brunette girl.

"I don't know. He's been grinding my nerves lately. He complains that I never spend time with him anymore and he's always whining about how I give you more attention." This made Ben smirk and Alice shot him a look.

"Isn't it because I'm cuter than him?" Ben asked and Alice patted his cheek.

"Much cuter, Ben. I thought maybe my feelings would change and it would be like it was at the start of our relationship, but I don't think that's the case. I'll have to give it a lot of thought. I don't need him causing a distraction right now." She sighed and Bailey patted her friend's hand to comfort her.

* * *

><p>"You know, Potter, I don't see why you and I can't ever get potions right." Ben mumbled as he walked the hallways with his best friend. "We do everything right."<p>

"I think it's because we're too busy making fun of each other and the professor." James replied with a sigh. "We need to step up our game. I really got to pass some of these O.W.L.S."

"I just got get an O Charms and Transfiguration….and maybe another one…..what was it?" He questioned, making a face. "Well damn, no wonder Eleanor and Alice are so worried about me failing. Care of Magical Creatures, that was it!" He exclaimed, remembering it. "I don't see why everyone is so worked up. I'm totally ready for these exams….minus charms."

"Transfiguration will be easy for you, it's what you've been doing your whole life, and magical creatures will be easy too, right?" James questioned, a little annoyed the male was so confident in himself. James was confident, but he was going to have to study his ass off.

"Of course. Gran always taught me about different magical creatures. She took me to see all these cools types when I lived with her. I mean, ya know, didn't have much practice in socializing with other kids my age but at least I wasn't an idiot I suppose." He shrugged, thinking about it. "Plus Hagrid really likes me and gives me books to read. Charms is the only thing I might have issues with, but the twins are good tutors and so is Alice."

"Eh, you fancy her?" James asked, smirking now. "You two are always really close, and it's different than with you and Ellie."

"Alice? Nooooo." Ben shook his head, thinking about the girl. "She's amazing and beautiful, but I'm not really into having a relationship right now, especially since I'll be shipped back to America in a few months. Plus, she's dating Hugh, and I don't move in on people who are in relationships."

"But you'll flirt with my baby brother." James muttered and Ben put his arm around James' shoulders, laughing loudly.

"I do that to piss you off!" He exclaimed and froze when he was hit in the face with an envelope. "What's this?" He asked when he pulled it off his face and James stopped and looked at it.

"I think it's a love letter. It has hearts all over it and smells really nice. Be careful, might have a love potion in itttttttt~!" He chuckled and elbowed Ben.

"I don't think this was meant for me." Ben really couldn't believe this. He never got love letters. From anyone. "Uh…" He flipped it over in his hands and saw his name on it. He looked around the hallway, but it was empty.

"Mate, open it!" James exclaimed and Ben was about to when he froze.

"Dude. What time is it?" He questioned. They gave each other panicked looks and dashed off, hoping to make it to Dark Arts class before Professor Selwyn gave them both detentions.

James rushed into class and slid into his seat, panting and out of breath. Benjamin came right after him, but the professor turned around before he could make it to his seat.

"Mr. Youngblood. Detention." She said before he could tell her why he was late. James looked ready to protest it too, to say he was late as well, but she shot him a look and he closed his mouth.

"Don't worry about it." Ben told James as she resumed class. "You seriously don't want detention with her."

"But I was late too." James argued, feeling guilty.

"Seriously, man, its fine." Ben was more forceful this time. "I got caught, you didn't. It happens." He really didn't want James to have to undergo the torture he knew he was going to get.

He flipped the letter over and over in his hands, wanting to open it, but not wanting to at the same time. It could be a prank, or it could be real. He wasn't too sure he wanted to know.

Class went by in a blur and he stashed the letter away in his bag because the last thing he wanted was the professor getting her disgusting hands on it. He followed her up to her office and she poured herself some tea while he sat at the desk, ready for another session of pain.

"Why were you late to my class today, Mr. Youngblood?" She asked, pushed a lone strand of hair out of her face. She had a forced smile on her face and her voice was light and sounded like nails on a chalkboard to Ben.

"I just lost track of time. I got distracted." He replied, wondering if he could avoid writing today. "I'm sorry."

"Why do you constantly have to stand out in a crowd of well-behaved studies? Every time I sit down to enjoy my meal, whether its breakfast, lunch, or dinner. I see you there, with your brightly colored hair or disheveled clothes. It is _very_ disturbing."

"Disturbing? I kind of can't help it, professor. I'm a metamorphmagus. I change. I stand out. It's what I do." He argued, not going to let her sit here and tell him that he was disturbing.

"You need to stop. It's a distraction to the other students and during this stressful time, it might cause issues." She stirred her tea and took a sip of it while Ben tried to process this. "I know that you like the attention you receive from constantly standing out, but it's unhealthy. It's unfortunate what happened to your mother, but, you know, I had problems with my mother too."

"Excuse me?" Ben asked, started to get frustrated. What did she know about his mother?

"I was such a young girl when she was taken from me, it was so upsetting." She sighed, shaking her head. "She adopted me and raised me, but she was taken from me too early. She was an amazing woman. My aunt raised me the best she could, but, I still miss my mother."

"I'm…sorry….?" Ben didn't know what to say. This lady's mother must have been a mad woman.

"So I know you miss the attention from your mother, but, you can't act out to get it. It's unhealthy."

"Professor, I'm not acting out for the attention. I like to change my hair color. It's something I enjoy it. I don't care what other people think." He didn't understand what the issues were.

"You need to start caring!" She seemed to lose her temper for a second. She took a deep breath and relaxed, sipping her tea. "Excuse that outburst. You need to care. Looks are important. As a Slytherin, I do not understand why you have such a carefree attitude about this. I chalk it up to your mother being a muggle."

"Don't speak about my mother. Just because I'm a Slytherin doesn't mean I can't be happy or carefree. You're stereotyping is disgusting, Professor." He wasn't going to let her speak down to him anymore.

"That tone of voice is disrespectful." She said and stood, walking out from behind her desk. "I didn't want to have to do this, but, you need to be taught a lesson." She put the paper and quill in front of him and he glared at her. "You know what to do. 'I will not stand out' forty times. Hopefully it will stick this time."

"Yeah right." He muttered to himself, but began writing it out. He knew she was watching, waiting for that moment on his face where he regretted speaking back to her and standing up for himself, but Ben refused to give her that satisfaction.

He should turn her into McGonagall, but, would anyone believe him? He was worried they wouldn't and he was worried they would send him back home early. He'd rather put up with this then get sent back home right now. He really wanted to finish out his schooling at Hogwarts and trying to get this professor fired might destroy that chance he had. Plus, what if the board found out? There's no way they'd do foreign exchange again. That meant Bailey would have no chance to come back here, and neither would he or any other student who found this school more enjoyable than their previous one.

His hand was on fire as he finished up the session. It started to shake as he dropped the quill on the paper and this time he concerned the mark wouldn't go away.

"You are dismissed." She said and he bolted out of the office. He stuck his shaking hand in his pants' pocket while he dodged his way through the hallway, trying to find some place to hide away for a while. His room was out of the question, because his roommates were there and would talk to him, they started to warm up to him and actually liked him now. He couldn't go to the library because James knew he hid out there sometimes and Albus could very easily be there, and lying to Albus was next to impossible.

He sighed and headed out of the castle into one of the courtyards, hoping none of his friends were there. He looked around and didn't see them, so he settled by the short stone wall and sighed, pulling his hand out of his pocket to examine it.

It was red and it stung and the writing was still there. This time he had a feeling it wasn't going to fade away, and he had to figure out what to do. Maybe he could cover it up? He was sure if he concentrated he could transfigure his hand. Right now, it hurt too much to do anything about it, so he just kept the right hand by his side and out of the other students' views.

He pulled out the letter and stared at it, not sure what he was going to do. He wasn't romantically into anyone, nor did he want to be, but he didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings by turning them down.

"What is that?" Alice questioned, startling him. She laughed when he jumped away and sat down next to him. "Don't be so jumpy. Oh….is that a love letter?" She looked more serious now and reached for it. He kept his right hand away from her. She looked it over, noticing it wasn't open. "You haven't opened it?"

"No. I don't know what to do." He admitted, a little embarrassed. "Never really had girls liking me before…."

"Really? I find that unbelievable. You're very likable, Benjamin. I'm kind of surprised no one has sent you one of these things earlier." She handed it back to him and looked at him, waiting for him to open it.

Ben couldn't really open it with one hand. He sighed, focusing on his hand and prayed it worked as he lifted it from his side. Alice didn't say anything, so he glanced down at it, and the writing was gone. He knew it was due to his transfiguration on it, but maybe later when he was bathing he could see if it disappeared. He ripped it open and looked down at the letter.

"Whoever it is, they have great handwriting." Alice looked over his shoulder at the cute cursive writing.

"Dear Benjamin, you most likely do not know me, and I hope I do not sound like a creeper, but, I think you're really cute and funny. You've spoken to me a few times in the hallway and you're very kind. I'm too scared to ask you this in person, so I'm writing this to you to ask if you'd like to go on a date with me on Valentines Day. I totally understand if you have someone else you are interested in or just not interested. From, Amanda Hensley." He read out loud, feeling a little embarrassed.

"Awah, that's sweet."

"I don't know who she is?" He questioned, trying to picture her. "I don't think I know her. What should I do?"

"She's a Hufflepuff in Albus' year. You really don't remember her? I see her looking at you all the time during meals. I'm not that surprised she fancies you." She nudged Ben's shoulder, smirking at him. "What are you doing to do?"

"Uh….I guess go out with her? I don't really want to hurt her feelings and I guess I could just go out on a date with her." Ben shrugged and looked at the letter. "Or should I just shoot her down?"

"I think you should go, it might be fun. You can always tell her you're just not interested in a relationship right now. She's a sweet girl, I'm sure she'll understand." Alice told him, hoping he would go out with the girl. "Eleanor is going to want to hound this poor girl."

"Oh yeah, Ellie is going to want to know everything about this girl." Ben chuckled thinking of his best friend. "She's going to grill her." Alice leaned against him, laughing a bit.

"I can imagine it now. She just told you to stay focused on your studies too."

"I picture fire coming out of her mouth." Ben glanced to Alice, and both began to laugh. Pain shot through his hand and he winced, holding onto his hand.

"Hey, is something wrong?" Alice asked, holding onto his arm and looking at his hand in concern.

"I got detention and I had to write this sentence over and over again and my hand is just cramping a bit." He lied, trying to cover it up. If Alice saw, she'd immediately rat him out and he'd be sent back to America with that evil professor smirking the whole time.

"That's awful. Soak it in warm water and don't sleep on it tonight. That might help a bit." Alice advised, hoping it would help. "Hogwarts is being a little rough on you, isn't it?"

"Yeah, but it's not so bad I suppose. I've got friends, so I can't complain."


	13. Chapter 13

**Thank you for all the reviews, favorites, and follows! Don't worry, the evil professor will get what's coming to her!**

* * *

><p>"You're going to go out with her?!" Eleanor almost screamed at dinner that night. The table hushed her, rolling their eyes at her reaction.<p>

"Why wouldn't I? I'll tell her I'm not looking for a relationship afterwards. It's not like I'll be leading her on or anything, I'll keep in platonic." Ben shrugged, taking a sip of his drink. "Ellie, you know you'll always be the most important girl in my life." He winked and she just pouted, stuffing her face with the mashed potatoes on her plate.

"Eleanor, come on, it's probably the girl's first real crush, and she confessed. She's probably so stressed out right now." Lorcan said and Bailey agreed. Amanda glanced over from her spot at the Hufflepuff table and she blushed and turned away quickly. "She's a cutie."

Amanda had shoulder length black hair and brown eyes and dimples when she smiled. She was pretty cute and Ben didn't mind going on a date with her. "Yeah, better go tell her. She looks so stressed out."

"You're going to do it now?" Bailey asked, surprised.

"Well, yeah. I'm not turning her down. No reason for her to be embarrassed if I tell her in front of her friends. C'mon, I'm pretty handsome and I'm a little bit older. It'll make her seem so cool in front of her friends." Ben smirked and Eleanor just rolled her eyes. "I'll be right back." He got up and walked over to her table. All her friends began to whisper and it was a bit of a confidence boost to Ben, which he could really use after having such an awful day.

"I can't believe this." Eleanor mumbled watching him.

"Hey." Ben grinned and Amanda turned around, trying to smile but it was obvious she was nervous. "I got your letter. I'm down for hanging out of Valentine's Day. Just tell me the time and place you wanna meet up. Romantic things aren't what I'm good at so you might have to do the planning."

"Really?" She asked, shocked. "You'll go out with me?"

"Well duh. Why wouldn't I?" He questioned, wondering why she was so surprised. "You're cute and sweet, any guy would be lucky to go out with you." Her face went bright red and he didn't realize he could be so smooth. "So just lemme know what you wanna do. Talk to you later." He waved and returned to his table, leaving the group of giggling girls behind him.

"You did good." Lysander praised the male, who nodded his head. "You're smoother than I thought."

"Yeah, I guess I am." He was surprised with himself, but pleased. "I didn't know I was decent at this sort of stuff. She seemed really happy." He sat down and took another sip of his drink. "She was surprised I said yes."

"Maybe it's because you're….you." Bailey suggested, shrugging.

"I'm me. I'm not like some big idol. I'm the dorkiest Slytherin there ever was. How have I not been kicked out yet is beyond me." He didn't really understand it but he was pretty flattered.

"She probably just finds you really attractive." Lysander said, and Ben shrugged. He was glad people found his alternative look attractive. Sometimes he felt guilty that none of them knew what he truly looked like, and that most of them thought that this was his actual self.

* * *

><p>"Potter, I'm telling you, just ask Ellie to go get some butterbeer with you." Ben told James as they sat on the short stone wall in one of the courtyards. Eleanor, Bailey, and Alice were at a table, studying. Ben and James were doing nothing, actually. Just talking.<p>

"What if she thinks I'm asking her on a date?" James asked nervously, glancing to her. He was so sure of himself….except when it came to Eleanor. He didn't want to mess up anymore.

"She won't. You two are friends now. She needs a break and I'll be on a date, so, she'll be alone." Ben continued, hoping James would do it. "Come on, Potter, you scared?"

"Honestly? A little." He admitted, feeling stupid. "Eleanor is a challenge, you know." He grumbled, rolling his eyes. "I'll ask her though. She'll probably say no."

"Probably, but just try to convince her. She really needs a break." He glanced over to the girls and back to James before he noticed Amanda standing nearby with her friends, looking at him. He turned his attention to her and smiled and she blushed, smiling back, her dimples showing. "She is a real cutie."

"How are you going to tell her you aren't interested?" James asked, looking at her before looking to his friend.

"I dunno. Probably just tell her after the date. I won't flirt or lead her on, that's not right. It's just a date, anyway. I've never really been on one but I've watched romantic movies before so I think I can handle it." He said and James just shook his head. "Look, Potter, neither of us are experienced with this but we're still young."

"Yeah yeah." He huffed as Amanda approached them, looking nervous as always.

"Hey, you got the game plan for tomorrow?" Ben asked, smiling at her. James really thought the girl was going to faint, but it was amusing nonetheless.

"Is meeting at the front of the school around noon and going to Hogsmeade from there okay?" She asked, fiddling with her golden sweater that was a little big on her.

"Sounds great. I'll see you then!" He nodded his head and she scurried off back to her friends, who were giggling. "I really enjoy that. Very boosting to my self-esteem."

"Neither of us need that." James muttered, knowing he and Ben both had big heads. "Maybe I could Ellie to tutor me in something instead of going to get butterbeer…"

"That''ll do." Ben told him, impressed by the idea. "She likes tutoring though she acts like she hates it. She likes for people to learn, and if she can teach me she can teach you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means nothing gets through our big heads, Potter."

* * *

><p>Ben got to the meeting spot early, because he would hate for Amanda to be waiting here by herself, wondering if Ben was going to show or not. James, amazingly, got Eleanor to tutor him and they were in the library now. Hopefully James wasn't fucking this up.<p>

He pulled his coat around himself more and fixed his beanie, wishing it would warm up soon. That was unlikely, but he could dream.

"Oh, I'm sorry I'm late." Amanda hurried up to him in her oversized golden sweater and black skirt. Her leggings had little gold stars all over them and she really was cute.

"I got here early, no worries." Ben said with a shrug. "Ready to go?" He asked and she nodded her head. They walked next to each other in silence and Ben was wondering if he should talk or if Amanda could even talk right now. She looked so nervous, like she was going to be sick. He decided not to talk and to let her collect her thoughts as they walked the well-worn snowy path.

He let Amanda lead as they entered the village and she stopped outside of a place called Madam Puddifoot's Tea Shop. Ben looked at it and was feeling a little regret. The place looked….well…

"Is this alright?" Amanda questioned, looking up at him. "My friends and I like to come here often, it's so nice."

"Of course it's alright." Ben replied and held the door open for her and entered behind her, the bell chiming above them. Of course this was _not _okay! This place looked like a pink hell. There were frilly tablecloths and napkins and couples everywhere holding hands and being all cute together. He was willing to give it a go, because Amanda liked it, but, he would never bring a date here. He followed her to an empty table and now he felt like the odd one.

"Have you ever been here before?" She asked and he shook his head, still taking in the room. "I just thought it was a good spot. My friends told me it was the best place to go on a date."

"It's nice. I don't go on dates so it's good I didn't plan this." He told her, hoping that would make her feel better. "Only thing I know about dates are from movies."

"Really?" She asked, eyes getting wide. "I-I just….I thought you…" She trailed off as tea was brought to them. She busied herself with fixing her cup, trying to think of what to say. "I just thought you've been on lots of dates before. I thought a lot of girls confessed to you."

"Me?" He asked, surprised at this. He actually laughed a little. "No way. I can't believe you even asked me out." She was such a sweet Hufflepuff and he was such a Slytherin. While he tried not to, he tended to have an imitating presence until he opened his mouth. He always tried to be over friendly at times, because he could be very blunt and rude.

"I was a little scared of you at first but I tend to be scared of most things." She admitted, sighing a bit. "You seemed really sweet though. You're much nicer looking when you have Eleanor or Alice or Albus with you." She sipped her tea, starting to relax more.

"I'm really not too scary." He told her, stirring sugar into his tea. "I have my moments but Eleanor wears the pants in our friendship, pretty sure all my friends wear the pants….except for James. We share pants because we're both equally stupid." He joked and she laughed, showing her dimples. "I'm glad you asked me out. Everyone is stressing out because of those important exams and blah." He made a face, shaking his head.

"Thank you for accepting it. I was worried you would say no because of exams…"

"No, school doesn't get in my way of fun. I'm caught up with all my school work anyway. Getting knocked out at that last game helped me catch up." He glanced up as two pieces of cake were set down on their table. "Sweet." He grinned and pulled his piece closer and dug in.

"You're okay, right? You were gone for a long time."

"No brain damage if that's what you're worried about. I just needed to rest. I didn't like the week long bed rest but I had to do it." He pouted a bit. "Got a lot of stuff done. I doodled and did homework and studied. Plus I got to sleep so much."

"It does sound nice to take a break like that, though I don't think I want to hurt myself to get that break." She mumbled. "You're a really great beater."

"Thanks!" He grinned, eating another bite. "Eleanor has whipped me into shape." He nodded, wondering how James and Eleanor were doing in the library. "I'm ready for our next game, even though it's a little while away."

"I thought for a while you and Eleanor were dating…" She admitted shyly before taking a bite of her cake.

"A lot of people think that. I love Eleanor a lot, but it's like she's my sister, really. It's all platonic love." He told her, finishing his cake. "I'm really not interested in anyone romantically right now. I guess it's because those exams are coming up or because I'm just an exchange student and I'll be going back home in a few months." He said and he saw Amanda grow a little disappointed.

"We can just go back to school if you want." She mumbled, starting to feel a little stupid. Of course he wasn't interested in her like that.

"I am having a lot of fun with you." He reached out and held her hand and her face got red. "Just because I'm not ready for a relationship doesn't mean that this isn't a date."

"Are you sure?" She asked, glancing at their hands before she looked back to him. He was smiling at her and he looked so handsome.

"Of course!" He exclaimed, nodding his head. "If I didn't want to come, I wouldn't have."

* * *

><p>"I hope Ellie likes the treats I got her." Ben mumbled as they left Honey Dukes. After spending another hour in that awful tea place, they left and wandered around, before hitting up Honey Dukes. Ben got some candy for James and Eleanor, since they were stuck studying and because he knew James would whine if he didn't bring him any candy back.<p>

"I think she'll love it." Amanda said, feeling much more relaxed and confident. Ben really took pressure off of her when he told her he wasn't very interested in being in a relationship now.

"You better be right, my dear!" He sighed, putting his arm around her shoulders and pulling her against him. "I think this has been a successful date. Tell me now and be honest, how did I do?"

"You were a lovely date." She smiled at him, warm with his arm around her. "You were entertaining and a complete gentleman. Ten out of ten, would go out with again." This made Ben laugh loudly.

"You're too kind." He told her, pulling her closer. "We should do this again when I'm not getting the shit beat out of me in Quidditch or studying my ass off."

"Really?" Amanda asked, glancing up at him.

"Why not?" He shrugged. "It's good to take a break every now and then. That sound good to you?"

"That'd be really great, actually." She was so happy right now. Today had been a perfect day and Benjamin was so much fun to be around.

"Youngblood, what are you doing out here with her?" A male that was bigger than Ben, but was his age asked. He had pushed back brown hair and blue eyes that were narrowed.

"Glenberg, why are you speaking to me?" Ben replied back coldly, shoot daggers at the Gryffindor. Oh how he hated Brad Glenberg. He was arrogant and a complete asshole. Back in America he would pick on Ben. He seemed to have moved on since Ben found his own friends and he couldn't really single him out anymore, but, here he was, trying to start shit.

"Just making sure she's not being held against her will or anything." He smirked, knowing he was pissing Benjamin off. "C'mon, Youngblood, like you're the one to date such a cute sweet Hufflepuff."

"Held against her will? Glenberg, do yourself a favor and fuck off. She asked me out. She obviously has great taste." He smiled at Amanda, who looked scared right now, but she was the nervous type.

"Who would ask you out? You're just a slimy Slytherin who can't fit in, even when you're in a house filled with people that are supposedly just like you. Sweetie, why don't you just come with me?" He directed the last bit to Amanda and Ben's hair turned red.

"She's mine, back off." Ben growled, his temper shot. Glenberg knew how to get him furious and he wasn't scared to punch the male. His eyes went red and he was ready to attack him.

"Awah, Benny getting angry?" He taunted, laughing. "With your little red eyes and sharp canine teeth. You sure are a catch, aren't you?"

"Shut up." Ben knew he shouldn't let the male get to him like this, but he did. "I don't give a shit what you say about me, Gryffindor, but this Hufflepuff is mine, got it? Let's go." He pulled Amanda away glaring at him over his shoulder to make sure he wasn't going to try anything before looking forward again. "I'm sorry about that. He's always been able to make me lose my temper." He loosened his hold on Amanda, feeling embarrassed.

"No, it's fine." She told him, nodding her head. "I'm sorry I didn't say anything. I should have stood up for you and not let him say those things."

"Don't worry about it." He told her, shaking his head. "I was expecting him to say those things. Anyone would say stuff like that. You're so cute and sweet and Hufflepuff and I'm very…..Slytherin." He rolled his eyes as they changed to silver and his hair went green. "I just don't like it when people say things about my friends. If he ever messes with you, you tell me, got it?" He questioned, looking down at her. "I'm not going to let that asshole try to fuck with you."

"Thank you, Ben." Amanda smiled, leaning into him as they continued to walk. "If it makes you feel better, I've always liked Slytherins. You guys aren't really mean to me or my friends at all. I just think people judge books based on their cover when they should really open up the book and read it."

"You're so sweet." He said, looking forward with a smile.


	14. Chapter 14

**Don't worry the bad professor will be taken care of! **

**Sorry if this chapter seems a little boring, but I don't want to rush too much.**

* * *

><p>"How was tutoring?" Ben asked, biting into his biscuit at dinner that evening. Eleanor glanced at him as she sipped her drink.<p>

"Decent, actually. Potter isn't all stupid as I previously thought." She said dryly and the twins chuckled. "He got on my nerves quite a bit, but, we managed to learn things and get stuff done. How was your date?"

"Wonderful." Ben said with a grin. "She was totally cool with it just being a friend thing and we had tons of fun. I got you some treats." He pulled them out of his pocket and dropped the bag next to her plate.

"None for us?" The twins asked together with a pout when Ben shook his head.

"Sorry, spent all the money I had on me on Ellie." He chuckled and they stuck their tongues out, not really mad at him. He reached in his pocket and handed Alice a small bag of sweets under the table. She smiled and he winked at her. "She's is my number one bae."

"Stop saying bae." Bailey told him, shaking her head. "That's such an annoying pet name."

"But Bailey, you don't wanna be my number three bae?" He questioned and she punched his shoulder. "Fine fine. This is why I didn't bring you any treats." He told her and stuck out his tongue.

* * *

><p>"But she didn't even bat an eye." Fred complained about his latest prank to James and Benjamin. "I forgot to put the powder in it, so it didn't explode." It had been a failure and he was upset by it.<p>

"Least you know what went wrong. Just pick someone new to prank." James suggested, launching into how his cousin could do the prank way better for the next time. Ben liked listening to them talk about pranks. It was entertaining and it gave him ideas. "We're planning on bubble juice in Professor Selwyn's office."

"Eh." Ben spoke up about this one. The scar on his hand hadn't faded or disappeared and now he was forced to constantly hide it. It was really difficult at first and he almost forgotten about it a few times. It was easier now, but, still. He couldn't let James have the same fate. "James, she's awful to deal with…"

"It'll be fun. We won't get caught, Benny." He smirked and Ben sighed. James could sometimes be…..stupid. "We've really got to plan this perfectly."

"Let's really think about this." Ben mumbled, hoping his friend would let this go. "She's…she's awful in detention. My hand is still cramping."

"Save it for an end of the year prank." Fred suggested. "Then you be on the train before she realizes what happened."

"I'll see what I can do." James smirked and Ben just sighed.

"Ben!" Eleanor shouted from behind them, catching the trio's attention.

"Whipppeeddd." Fred joked as Ben trotted over to her eagerly, like a dog would. "You aren't jealous that she likes him more?" He directed this to James.

"No, not really. It's platonic." James wasn't worried at all. He knew Ben was good for his word and it was clear to see their relationship was more like one of a brother and sister. "For a Slytherin, he isn't so bad."

"We've got family in Slytherin now, so you shouldn't be so surprised." Fred replied, referring to Rose and Albus.

"Yeah, but we know them." He replied. "Ben was new. I like him. I think grandma loves him."

"Oh yeah, she does. Whole family loves him. They'll be wanting him to marry in, I bet." He laughed at this, wondering who he would end with it that was to happen. "You know, he's always talking about how cute Albus is."

"That's not going to happen!" James exclaimed, hitting his cousin. "He's not interested in anyone. I thought he liked Alice, but he said nothing was going on between them and he didn't have any feelings for her."

"Ellie!" They heard him exclaimed as Eleanor smacked him over the head. He whined loudly and she rolled her eyes and stormed off. He hurried off after her, making students around them laugh.

"I've never seen a Slytherin so whipped before." Fred said again and shook his head.

"He's not whipped." Alice approached them, shaking her head. "He just really adores Eleanor. She'd do the same for him. They just have that kind of relationship. I'm jealous, actually. I wish I had a guy friend like that. I guess Eleanor won't mind sharing Ben."

"I'll be that friend!" James exclaimed and Alice looked at him.

"So you'll carry my books and buy me sweets and call me 'my dear' and be charming and sweet with no alternative motives?" She questioned. Fred and James looked at her like she was crazy. "That's what Ben does."

"Ben is fucking mental." Fred muttered. "Who does all that? Is he even real?"

"I picked a good best mate, yeah?" James grinned, elbowing Fred. "Told you. Ben is good."

"You didn't even like him at first." Alice muttered, shooting James a look. "And from what I've heard, he was forced into this friendship and you nearly got him killed." She was angrier at this part. She loved Ben to pieces and, while she did love James just as much, she was ready to send him flying if he ever got Ben hurt.

"Things were rough at first and that was an accident, but we're mates now." James explained, trying to get Alice to get off his back about the slight mishap in the Forbidden Forest. "He got me sweets from when he went to Hogsmeade on his date. Means we're mates."

"He got me some too, though he passed them under the table so the twins and Bailey wouldn't get jealous. I bet he loves me more." Alice smirked, sticking her tongue out at James.

"No way, he likes me more!" James replied and the two looked at each other before rushing off after Ben and Eleanor to find out who was right.

* * *

><p>"Isn't it good enough that I like both of you?" Ben grumbled, glancing at James and Alice, who turned to glare at each other. "Is it really a competition?"<p>

"Why are you two even arguing about this? We all know I'm far more important to him." Eleanor beamed. It was a little mean to say, but she had never been someone's number one priority before. Ben put his arm around Eleanor and pulled her against him, shrugging.

"She's right you two. Look, both of you are tied for how important you are to me." Ben shrugged, trying to keep the peace. "Alice is my second girl bae and James you're my second guy bae."

"Who the hell is your first guy bae?" James furrowed his brows as he asked this, then glared at him, cheeks getting red. "Stay away from Albus!"

"How'd you guess?" He chuckled, pulling away from Eleanor with a smirk on his face. "James, seriously, relax. You're so easy to tease. Are all Gryffindors this naïve?" He questioned the two Ravenclaws and James punched his arm, annoyed with his best mate.

"February is almost over, Ben. By now I should at least rank as number one male." James huffed and Ben reached out, pulling him into a bone crushing hug.

"I'm showing affection for you." Ben said and James struggled in his grasp. Ben let him go and James adjusted his bright red sweater, rolling his eyes at his friend. "James, if you can't handle a hug what is going to happen when I need to cuddle?"

"Leave that for Alice and Ellie to take care of." James grumbled. He didn't want to have Eleanor cuddling with Ben, but the Slytherin male was too hot temperature wise for James to stand. James got hot easily, especially when he slept, and he had a feeling if he ever got stuck in the same bed with Ben, they'd be on fire.

Ben pouted, whining at this. He cracked his back though, brushing it off when he saw that James was not going to give in. Fridays were his favorite. He had no classes and many of his friends only had one class, which meant he got to spend the day in his normal clothes bothering his friends.

"C'mon, Benny, we need to study." Eleanor took hold of his elbow to guide him towards the library. "I'll see you two later." They walked off and Ben glanced behind him, making sure they were a good distance away from Potter.

"You getting along with James?" He didn't mean for it to come out like a question, but it sort of did.

"I suppose. This year was different." She answered shortly, glancing at Ben. "You started to get along with him."

"We made an alliance of sorts. I didn't expect to become best friends with him." Ben replied. "It just sort of happened."

"If you get along with him, he can't be so bad. I guess that's why I have been putting up with his arrogant air and that annoying smirk." She balled her fist and Ben wanted to chuckle, but he held it in. Eleanor wouldn't like it if he laughed and she wouldn't understand. Maybe in sixth year she would get that her feelings for James were changing, but right now, she wouldn't get it. "We need to study all this weekend again. We only have a few months to the exams."

"But.." He sighed, feeling annoyed by the mention of the exams. She was right though. February was just about over in three days. The shortest month of the year went by the quickest unsurprisingly. He avoided any more detention and his hand was thankful for that.

He knew they were going to find out, maybe. When he got home, what was he going to tell his family when he forgot to transfigure the skin on his hand to look normal? What if he returned next year and she was still here teaching? The pressure was riding him and he didn't know what to do.

"I hate to say this, but I will be a little thankful when Quidditch season is over. I love it, but practice is getting in the way of studying. It upsets me a little that Ravenclaw V.S. Slytherin is the last game of the season." She grumbled, not liking being put against Ben. She knew what would happen. He would focus more on protecting her than his own team.

"Never thought I would hear you say those words." Ben said with wide eyes at his friend's confession.

"I love it and it helps me relax, but, this year is seriously important. I don't know what you do in America to prepare but we start studying in our fourth year for this." She explained as Ben opened the door to the library. Books were flying off the shelf, floating to the students who used their wands so they wouldn't have to get up to retrieve the book.

"I never take my education seriously. I probably should but I was only interested in the things I liked." Ben admitted with a shrug as Eleanor found a table and set her things down. Ben followed suit and she pulled out her quills and ink, then her notebooks. "Transfiguration was what I enjoyed and I should have been placed in advanced classes for it. I know that sounds a bit vain but I was bored by what the professor taught. My grandma taught me a lot, even after I went off to school. I'd stay with her a bit over the summer and she was fine with me doing magic in the home so she taught me spells and stuff. She helped my brother too."

"That's really neat. I don't think it's vain. We all know that's your best class." Eleanor didn't mind admitting that. He was far better in it than the rest of them and tutored them during breakfast and dinner. It came natural to him and you could tell he loved in.

"That and magical creatures. All I'm good at, though I need to get good at charms I guess…." He grumbled, flipping open his charms text book with a bored sigh. "I dunno what I'm going to do in the future but I hope it has something to do with dragons."

"You could always talk to Charlie Weasley. You remember him, yeah?" She questioned and he nodded his head enthusiastically "He could probably suggest a program or at least a starting point for you."

"I might. He was really cool…" Ben sighed, thinking about the male. "He knew so much! He gets to work with dragons and touch them! That's dream job right there. To get to spend everyday being around the things you loveeeeeee."

"You're like a child." Eleanor said, ruffling his hair and rubbing the shaved undercut part of his head. He sighed happily and leaned in. "And like a dog."

"You never show me affection. I love affection." He hummed and laid his head on the table, wanting to go to sleep. "Usually you're affection is an over the head slap or something."

"Oh hush and start learning." Eleanor pulled out her book and started to read it, leaving Ben to nap. She glanced at him after a little while and reached her hand out, running her fingers through his now blue hair.


End file.
